IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIAL DIVERSITY IN GUT HEALTH AND DISEASE

1. IMPORTANCE OF
MICROBIAL DIVERSITY
IN GUT HEALTH AND
DISEASE
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2. PRESENTED BY
1.Marzeea Ahmad Raka
ID# 1320703046
2.Nusrat Alam
ID#1321238046
3.Shabnaz Shabab Swarna
ID#1320022046
4.Suraiya Ahmed
ID# 1320916046
5.Sabrina Arafin
ID# 1320538046
6.Ramisha Rifat Tony
ID# 1320332646
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3. OUR GUT
 Is teeming with microbes – up
to 70% of the body’s total
number
 It is an extremely complex
ecosystem harbouring more
than 100 trillion micro-
organisms
 There are thought to be around
30 – 40 different
species of bacteria.
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4. Many of these have a
symbiotic relationship with us –
and help to keep less beneficial
strains at bay.
A healthy gut in an adult
human has somewhere in the
region of 2 kg of these bacteria
in the gut.
They play a vital role in the
body – without them we would
not survive.
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5. The Father of Modern Medicine
“All disease begins in the gut”
Hippocrates
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6. GUT MICROBIOTA OR GUT FLORA
The word microbiota represents an ensemble
of microorganisms that resides in a
previously established environment. Human
beings have clusters of bacteria in different
parts of the body such as in the surface or
deep layers of skin (skin microbiota), the
mouth (oral microbiota), the vagina (vaginal
microbiota), and so on.
Gut microbiota is harboured in the intestine,
one of the main areas in our bodies that
comes into contact with the external
environment (other examples are the skin
and the lungs). 6

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Figure: Distribution of gut flora in digestive tract

8. ITS IMPORTANCE
• It helps the body to digest certain foods that the
stomach and small intestine have not been able
to digest.
• It helps with the production of
some vitamins (B and K).
• It helps us combat aggressions from other
microorganisms, maintaining the wholeness of
the intestinal mucosa.
• It plays an important role in the immune
system, performing a barrier effect.
• A healthy and balanced gut microbiota is key
to ensuring proper digestive functioning.
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9. Essential or beneficial flora
• These bacteria are referred to as our
indigenous friendly bacteria. The main
members of this group are: Lactobacteria,
Lactobacillus plantarum
Bifidobacteria,Lactobacteria,
Propionobacteria, Peptostreptococci and
Enterococci.
• Beneficial or good bacteria is also called
probiotic. They are the housekeepers of
the gut. These bacteria fulfil a myriad of
vital functions in the body.
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11. Essential Flora and
Bad Bacteria
• The whole surface of the digestive
system in a healthy gut flora is covered
and dominated by beneficial bacteria
• In a healthy body these beneficial
bacteria predominate and control all
other microbes.
• They provide and protects us against
all sorts of invaders, bacteria, parasites,
fungi, viruses, toxins etc.
• Apart from providing us with a physical
barrier they produce antibiotic like
substances that are anti fungal, anti
viral that dissolve viruses and 'bad'
bacteria.
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12. MAJOR ROLE OF BENEFICIAL FLORA
Digestion and absorption of food.
To break down proteins, carbohydrates,
fibre and fats.
To transport vitamins, minerals and other
nutrients through the gut wall.
Actively synthesize nutrients such as K2,
many of the B vitamins and some amino acids.
Help to chelate heavy metals from our
system.
Help to control parasites.
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13. BODY IMMUNITY
They play a crucial role in
our immune system, keeping
the body’s immunity active.
Around 83% of our immunity
is located in the gut wall.
Beneficial flora imbalance
will have an immediate
impact on immune system.
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14. HOW IT STARTS
 We inherit our gut flora from our
mother at birth.
 As the baby comes through the birth
canal it swallows its first mouthfuls
of bacteria, which begin to inhabit
baby’s sterile gut.
 Breast feeding continues the process.
 It takes about 2 years for a baby’s
immune system to fully develop
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15. AGE
Analysing bacterial V4 16S rRNA from
528 individuals of different ages and
geographic origins, demonstrated that
the diversity of microbiota composition
of the fecal samples is significantly
higher in adults than in children,
although interpersonal differences are
higher in children than in adults. The
maturation of microbiota into an adult-
like configuration happens during the
three first years of life.
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16. TYPES
 The four dominant phyla in the human gut are-
Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and
Proteobacteria.
 Most bacteria belong to the genera Bacteroides,
Clostridium, Fusobacterium, Eubacterium,
Ruminococcus, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, and
Bifidobacterium. Other genera, such as Escherichia
and Lactobacillus, are present to a lesser extent.
Species from the genus Bacteroides alone constitute
about 30% of all bacteria in the gut, suggesting that
this genus is especially important in the functioning of
the host.
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17. Figure: Bifidobacterium
bifidum (gram positive
bacilli of large intestine)
Figure: E. coli
(facultatively anaerobic
bacteria of large intestine)
Figure: Clostridium perfringes
(gram positive bacteria)
Figure: Peptostreptococcus
anaerobius (gram positive cocci)
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19. FUNCTIONS OF GUT MICROBS
Microbes perform a host of useful functions such as -
Fermenting unused energy
Training the immune system
Preventing growth of pathogenic bacteria
Regulating the development of the gut
Producing vitamins, such as biotin and Vit K
Producing hormones to direct the host to store fats
Repress microbial growth through the barrier effect
Harmful yeasts and bacteria like Clostridium
difficile are unable to grow excessively due to
competition from the helpful gut flora 19

20. Beneficial effects of E. Coli
 Prevents infection of animals with
Cholera, Shigella, Pseudomonas and
staph aureus (no effect on Candida or
Salmonella)
 Degrades N-nitrosamines and
polycyclic aromatic amines and N-
hydroxyl aryl amines.
 E. coli is used as a probiotic agents in
medicine, mainly for the treatment of
various gastroenterological diseases,
including inflammatory bowel disease.
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21. PROBIOTICS
 Probiotics are organisms such as
bacteria or yeast that are believed to
improve health. They are available
in supplements and foods.
 The digestive system is home to
more than 400 different types of
bacteria. They help keep the
intestines healthy and assist in
digesting food.
 Probiotics also help to maintain a
strong immune system.
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22. PROBIOTICS
“Probiotics can improve
intestinal function and
maintain the integrity of
the lining of the
intestines,” says Stefano
Guandalini, MD, professor
of pediatrics and
gastroenterology at the
University of Chicago
Medical Center.
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23. EFFECTS OF ANTIBIOTICS
o Can alter the numbers of gut bacteria,
which can reduce ability to digest
o Can cause diarrhea by irritating the bowel
directly, changing the levels of gut flora,
and allowing pathogenic bacteria to grow
o Creates antibiotic resistant bacteria in gut
o Probiotics rely on a few strains of good
bacteria
o However, every time we swallow
antibiotics, we kill the beneficial bacteria
within our intestines.
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24. ROLE OF GUT BACTERIA IN DISEASE:
Gut flora might also be an essential
factor in certain pathological disorders-
• Can produce toxins and carcinogens
• Bacteria have been related to Sepsis
and Colon cancer, Multisystem
organ failure, Inflammatory Bowel
Disease, Crohn’s disease,
Ulcerative Colitis etc.
• Balance is critical: harmful if
numbers are too high or too low.
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25. What Can Damage Gut Flora
Antibiotics
Other drugs
Poor diet
Bottle feeding
Pollution
Alcohol
Dental work
Steroids, The Pill
Stress
Infections
Old Age
Radiation
Toxic chemicals
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26. GUT DYSBIOSIS
When gut flora is damaged or in
imbalance it is called dysbiosis.
 Opportunistic gut microbes
including yeast, harmful bacteria,
viruses and parasites start to take
hold.
 They can be very difficult to
eradicate once they have moved in.
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27. WHEN GOOD GUTS TURN BAD!!
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29. When gut flora is damaged!
• Microbes i.e. ‘bad’ bacteria,
multiply.
• They can perforate and damage
the thin layer of epithelial cells
lining the gut, which then allows
unwanted microbes and toxins to
inter into our bloodstream.
• This is termed ‘leaky gut’
syndrome.
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30. Leaky Gut!
• Causes include:
– poorly digested food-alcohol
– antibiotics or infection-painkillers
– heavy metal toxicity-smoking
– birth control pills -
antacids
– chlorinated water-food additives
– high homocysteine levels
parasites, yeasts food allergies
• Underactive & constipated bowel
will also cause problems
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31. Leaky Gut!
Consequences
• Body has to use whatever routes it can to
eliminate toxins.
• They initially get taken to liver.
• The increased flow leads to blocked detox
pathways
• All liver functions suffer
• Toxins bypass the filtering and go into blood
stream.
• Get taken:
• To lungs -asthma, and other chronic lung
conditions
• To skin – eczema, rashes and other skin
problems
• Urine – cystitis, thrush, bedwetting
• Through mucous membranes – sinusitis, post
nasal drip, rhinitis, gingivitis, vaginitis,
diarrhea/constipation
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32. Treatment and Diagnosis:
Five Steps to a Healthy Gut (and a
Healthy Body):
We can follow these five simple steps
to begin re-balancing our gut flora-
1.Eat a fiber–rich, whole foods diet.
2.Limit sugar, processed foods,
animal fats, and animal protein.
3.Avoid the use of antibiotics, acid
blockers, and anti-inflammatories.
4.Take probiotics daily.
5.Consider specialized testing.
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33. Prevention of harmful gut
flora:
• Bacteriophage is a virus that infects and
replicates within bacteria, killing them. Phages
are all over - in soil, sea water, intestines, etc.
Used for over 90 years in the Eastern Europe
against bacterial infections. It is a possible
therapy against multi-drug resistant strains of
bacteria in the gut flora.
• The good news is that you can reset your gut
bacteria, swapping bad flora for good.
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34. Current Research Work:
• UCLA researchers now have the
first evidence that bacteria ingested
in food can affect brain function in
humans. In an early proof-of-
concept study of healthy women,
they found that women who
regularly consumed beneficial
bacteria known as probiotics
through yogurt showed altered brain
function, both while in a resting
state and in response to an emotion-
recognition task.
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35. References :
.
• Savage, D C (1977). "Microbial Ecology of the Gastrointestinal Tract". Annual
Review of Microbiology 31: 107–33. doi:10.1146/annurev. • “Integrative
Gastroenterology”, by Gerard E. Mullin
• Cummings, J.H.; MacFarlane, G.T. (1997). "Role of intestinal bacteria in nutrient
metabolism". Clinical Nutrition 16: 3–9. doi:10.1016/S0261-5614(97)80252-X.
PMID 16844615.
• Guarner, F; Malagelada, J (2003). "Gut flora in health and disease". The Lancet
361 (9356): 512–9. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12489-0
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
• http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/27/probiotics-gut-
health-impact.aspx
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