Review article: the future of microbiome‐based therapeutics

Abstract

Background: From consumption of fermented foods and probiotics to emerging applications of faecal microbiota transplantation, the health benefit of manipulating the human microbiota has been exploited for millennia. Despite this history, recent technological advances are unlocking the capacity for targeted microbial manipulation as a novel therapeutic.Aim: This review summarises the current developments in microbiome-based medicines and provides insight into the next steps required for therapeutic development.Methods: Here we review current and emerging approaches and assess the capabilities and weaknesses of these technologies to provide safe and effective clinical interventions. Key literature was identified through Pubmed searches with the following key words, 'microbiome', 'microbiome biomarkers', 'probiotics', 'prebiotics', 'synbiotics', 'faecal microbiota transplant', 'live biotherapeutics', 'microbiome mimetics' and 'postbiotics'.Results: Improved understanding of the human microbiome and recent technological advances provide an opportunity to develop a new generation of therapies. These therapies will range from dietary interventions, prebiotic supplementations, single probiotic bacterial strains, human donor-derived faecal microbiota transplants, rationally selected combinations of bacterial strains as live biotherapeutics, and the beneficial products or effects produced by bacterial strains, termed microbiome mimetics. Conclusions:Although methods to identify and refine these therapeutics are continually advancing, the rapid emergence of these new approaches necessitates accepted technological and ethical frameworks for measurement, testing, laboratory practices and clinical translation.

Role of Gut Microbiota in Neurological Disorders and Its Therapeutic Significance

“…The GM play an important role in the pathogenesis and therapy of multiple neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), epilepsy, stroke, brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington’s disease (HD) [ 17 , 18 ]. Among the therapies, probiotics, postbiotics, prebiotics, symbiotic, antibiotics, and fecal transplantation have been investigated for GM-derived neurological disorders [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Henceforth, this review covers a detailed account of the role of GM in the GBA, which is associated in neurology pathways, and aspects of multiple neurological disorders together that have not been reported earlier.…”

Sprout microbial safety: A reappraisal after a quarter‐century

“…Anxiety about possible foodborne contaminants introduced by a third party is eliminated, and the consumer (who is also the grower) of those sprouts can focus on the highly nutritious content of the fresh and unprocessed food they are about to consume. Future prospects for even further enhancements to sprout safety are expected to result from the ever‐increasing availability and decreasing unit cost of microbiological analytical techniques including point‐of‐purchase and point‐of‐use tests that are constantly being developed and improved upon within specialties of food safety, microbiome‐based therapeutics, and drinking water safety, to name just a few (Foddai & Grant, 2020; Gulliver et al., 2022; Bailey et al., 2021).…”

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Gut Microbiota, and Human (In)Fertility—It Is Time to Consider the Triad

“…In the era of precision medicine, a better understanding of the role of GM in reproduction opens the possibility to develop novel strategies to prevent or treat infertility and the diseases associated with it, such as maternal dietary modification [ 106 ], probiotic and prebiotic supplementation, and fecal microbiota transplantation [ 107 ]. Moreover, the recent correlation between microbiota composition and host epigenome suggests that the enrichment for certain microbial species could modulate unique gene expression signatures [ 8 ].…”