Role and application of intestinal flora in human health

Abstract

In the coevolutionary journey with humans, the complex and diverse human intestinal flora hasevolved to regulate the human immune responses and affect the development of diseases. This immunomodulatoryeffect is closely related to the diversity of intestinal flora and the presence of key strains. The composition andfunction of the intestinal flora are greatly influenced by a variety of factors, including the diet, age and living envi‐ronment of the host. Normal intestinal flora can regulate the permeability of intestinal epithelial cells, stimulate in‐testinal metabolism and immunoreaction, and maintain local homeostasis in the intestinal microenvironment.When the intestinal flora is imbalanced and the intestinal homeostasis is disrupted, the risk of many diseases, suchas the gastrointestinal metabolic diseases, as well as the immune and neurological diseases, will increase. Here wereviewed the current research progress and therapeutic applications of human intestinal flora in the following sec‐tions: the relationship between intestinal flora and human health, the factors affecting the composition of intestinalflora, the impact of functional foods on human health, and how to maintain intestinal microecological balance.Hopefully this review will provide new thinking for future studies on the interaction between intestinal flora andhuman health and the related translational applications.

Keywords

• intestinal flora
• human health
• microecological balance