In addition, microbiota have been associated with predicting response to low fermentable, oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide, and polyol (FODMAP) diets in irritable bowel syndrome patients, and predicting metabolic response to high-fiber diets, he added.
Diagnostics is another area where microbiota could soon become important: “In diseases like [inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome] where we have a very heterogeneous population, looking at the microbiota might allow us to define new disease categories,” Dr. Quigley said.
Despite the promise, much research is still needed to confirm many of the findings of experimental studies.
“I think it’s clear that the microbiota is important in health and disease,” Dr. Quigley said. “However, host/microbiome interactions in [humans] are complex and far from completely understood, and unfortunately, some of the elegant work in animal models has not quite translated into man.”
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Dr. Quigley reported disclosures related to Alimentary Health, Almirall, Biocodex, 4D Pharma, Menarini, Pharmasierra, Salix, Synergy, and Vibrant.