Antibiotics and the gut microbiome: Understanding the impact on human health

Abstract

Antibiotic use has become problematic because it unintentionally upsets the delicate equilibrium of the human gut microbiota. Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, that were once regarded as life-saving treatments for bacterial infections instead indiscriminately destroy the good bacteria that are essential for preserving gut health in addition to their target pathogens. Antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis, the term for this disturbance, sets off a series of adverse reactions that negatively impact the gut microbiome, resulting in a decline in microbial diversity and the creation of an environment that is favourable to the establishment of strains that are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic exposure has wide-ranging effects from prenatal to adulthood; research has shown long-term effects include increased risk of antibiotic resistance, obesity, allergies, asthma, and altered metabolic processes. This thorough investigation emphasises the critical need for a more sophisticated knowledge of the effects of antibiotic therapy on the gut microbiota and the necessity of implementing all-encompassing solutions that reduce its detrimental effects and protect human health throughout life.

Keywords

• Gut microbiome
• Dysbiosis
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Probiotics