16 Facts About Gut flora

Gut flora microbiota are the microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea, that live in the digestive tracts of vertebrates including humans, and of insects.

In humans, the gut flora is established at one to two years after birth, by which time the intestinal epithelium and the intestinal mucosal barrier that it secretes have co-developed in a way that is tolerant to, and even supportive of, the gut flora and that provides a barrier to pathogenic organisms.

The systemic importance of the SCFAs and other compounds they produce are like hormones and the gut flora itself appears to function like an endocrine organ, and dysregulation of the gut flora has been correlated with a host of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

Archaea constitute another large class of gut flora which are important in the metabolism of the bacterial products of fermentation.

The bacterial flora provide regulatory signals that enable the development and utility of the gut.

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Research suggests that the relationship between gut flora and humans is not merely commensal, but rather is a mutualistic, symbiotic relationship.

Establishment of a gut flora is crucial to the health of an adult, as well as the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Gut flora community plays a direct role in defending against pathogens by fully colonising the space, making use of all available nutrients, and by secreting compounds that kill or inhibit unwelcome organisms that would compete for nutrients with it, these compounds are known as cytokines.

Disruption of the gut flora allows competing organisms like Clostridium difficile to become established that otherwise are kept in abeyance.

Different bacterial species that appear in gut flora have been shown to be able to drive the immune system to create cytokines selectively; for example Bacteroides fragilis and some Clostridia species appear to drive an anti-inflammatory response, while some segmented filamentous bacteria drive the production of inflammatory cytokines.

Gut flora can regulate the production of antibodies by the immune system.

Gut flora microbiota serve as a source of Vitamins K and B12 that are not produced by the body or produced in little amount.

Diversity of gut flora appears to be significantly diminished in people with inflammatory bowel diseases compared to healthy people; additionally, in people with ulcerative colitis, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria appear to dominate; in people with Crohn's, Enterococcus faecium and several Proteobacteria appear to be over-represented.

SCFAs offer a link between gut flora and immune disorders, and as of 2016, this was an active area of research.

Gut flora has been implicated in obesity and metabolic syndrome due to the key role it plays in the digestive process; the Western pattern diet appears to drive and maintain changes in the gut flora that in turn change how much energy is derived from food and how that energy is used.

Dysbiosis in the gut flora has been linked with the development of cirrhosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.