Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2011 Dec;11(6):593-603. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2011.09.010. Epub 2011 Oct 11.
Thanks to rapid progress in the development and application of molecular techniques to the assessment of the human gut microbiome, the true nature, diversity and metabolic potential of this 'hidden organ' are being revealed. Simultaneously, the complex physiological, immunological and metabolic interactions between host and microbiome are being untangled. By contrast, the probiotic concept has been with us for decades and, while supported more by fad and folklore in the past, is now gaining support, not only from experimental work in animal models, but also by well-designed studies in human diseases, most notably infectious diarrheas, inflammatory bowel disease and the irritable bowel syndrome.
得益于分子技术在人类肠道微生物组评估方面的快速发展和应用，这个“隐藏的器官”的真实性质、多样性和代谢潜力正在被揭示。与此同时，宿主和微生物组之间复杂的生理、免疫和代谢相互作用也正在被解开。相比之下，益生菌的概念已经存在了几十年，虽然过去更多的是受到时尚和民间传说的支持，但现在不仅得到了动物模型实验工作的支持，也得到了人类疾病的精心设计研究的支持，尤其是感染性腹泻、炎症性肠病和肠易激综合征。
