Microbiome-Based Treatment for Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders

Exploration of the human gut microbiome has deepened the understanding of how microbial colonisation, development and imbalances contribute to different health-related ailments. The immense metabolic capabilities of gut microbes and their role in maintaining human physical condition have become increasingly evident, enabling new possibilities for using them as therapeutic agents to combat human gastrointestinal (GI) ailments. Microbiome therapeutics in different GI diseases involve interventions that aim to manipulate the gut microbiome using approaches such as adding, removing or modulating microbes and utilising antibiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics. This approach can potentially overcome traditional therapeutics’ limitations by offering personalised, coordinated, reliable and sustainable treatments. However, despite its promise, microbiome therapeutics are still in the early stages of development and face various regulatory and technical challenges that require further research, particularly in different GI disorders. This chapter provides an outline of the existing knowledge and landscape of microbiome therapeutics specifically using fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT), prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, antibiotics and synbiotics discussing the existing applications in different GI disorders and exploring potential future directions for modulating the microbiome-based treatments.