Abstract

GARZA-VELASCO, Raúl; GARZA-MANERO, Sylvia Patricia  and  PEREA-MEJIA, Luis Manuel. Gut microbiota: a fundamental ally of the human organism. Educ. quím [online]. 2021, vol.32, n.1, pp.10-19.  Epub Aug 13, 2021. ISSN 0187-893X.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fq.18708404e.2021.1.75734.

The gut microbiota plays relevant functions in the human organism, contributing directly or indirectly to its homeostasis. To name a few, it participates in the immune and the nervous system modulation, the vitamins synthesis, the gut defence and the peristaltic movement.

Novel molecular biology techniques have been determinant to reveal amazing findings in recent years, and now the authors use terms and phrases such as “psychobiotics”, “an additional human tissue”, “the second brain”, and “the microbiota-gut-brain axis”, when referring to the gut microbiota functions.

In contrast, misregulation of gut microbiota is involved in the pathogenicity of chronical diseases, such as obesity, type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gut inflammatory disease, depression and anxiety, among others. Therefore, it is important to investigate the gut microbiota composition and the individual contribution of each specie to the gut microbiota function, and subsequently, to the human organism physiology.

This review article summarizes recent contributions in the field, suitable when teaching the theme of “Habitual Microbiota” in the Biological Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Food Chemistry, and related bachelor degrees.

Keywords : Gut microbiota; dysbiosis; immunological tolerance; neurotransmisors; chronic diseases.