Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 18:13:841782.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.841782. eCollection 2022.

Nutraceuticals in the Modulation of the Intestinal Microbiota: Current Status and Future Directions

Enzo Spisni  1 , Silvia Turroni  2 , Patrizia Alvisi  3 , Renato Spigarelli  1 , Demetrio Azzinnari  1 , Dario Ayala  4 , Veronica Imbesi  5 , Maria Chiara Valerii  1   5
Affiliations

Nutraceuticals in the Modulation of the Intestinal Microbiota: Current Status and Future Directions

Enzo Spisni et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Pharmaceutical interest in the human intestinal microbiota has increased considerably, because of the increasing number of studies linking the human intestinal microbial ecology to an increasing number of non-communicable diseases. Many efforts at modulating the gut microbiota have been made using probiotics, prebiotics and recently postbiotics. However, there are other, still little-explored opportunities from a pharmaceutical point of view, which appear promising to obtain modifications of the microbiota structure and functions. This review summarizes all in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies demonstrating the possibility to positively modulate the intestinal microbiota by using probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, essential oils, fungus and officinal plants. For the future, clinical studies investigating the ability to impact the intestinal microbiota especially by using fungus, officinal and aromatic plants or their extracts are required. This knowledge could lead to effective microbiome modulations that might support the pharmacological therapy of most non-communicable diseases in a near future.

Keywords: bacteria; essential oil; immunomodulation; microbiota; phytotherapy; postbiotic; prebiotic; probiotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Author DAy was employed in the private clinic The Longevity Concept. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Dysbiosis of GM as a cause or contributing cause of non-communicable diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ahmad M. F. (2018). Ganoderma Lucidum: Persuasive Biologically Active Constituents and Their Health Endorsement. Biomed. Pharmacother. 107, 507–519. 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.08.036 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Akobeng A. K., Singh P., Kumar M., Al Khodor S. (2020). Role of the Gut Microbiota in the Pathogenesis of Coeliac Disease and Potential Therapeutic Implications. Eur. J. Nutr. 59 (8), 3369–3390. 10.1007/s00394-020-02324-y - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andrews C. N., Sidani S., Marshall J. K. (2021). Clinical Management of the Microbiome in Irritable Bowel Syndrome. J. Can. Assoc. Gastroenterol. 4 (1), 36–43. 10.1093/jcag/gwz037 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Angelakis E., Armougom F., Million M., Raoult D. (2012). The Relationship between Gut Microbiota and Weight Gain in Humans. Future Microbiol. 7 (1), 91–109. 10.2217/fmb.11.142 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Atarashi K., Tanoue T., Shima T., Imaoka A., Kuwahara T., Momose Y., et al. (2011). Induction of Colonic Regulatory T Cells by Indigenous Clostridium Species. Science 331 (6015), 337–341. 10.1126/science.1198469 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources