The Influence of Probiotics on the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes Ratio in the Treatment of Obesity and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Overview

Journal Microorganisms

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2020 Nov 3

PMID 33139627

Citations 575

Authors

Spase Stojanov

Ales Berlec

Borut Strukelj

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The two most important bacterial phyla in the gastrointestinal tract, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, have gained much attention in recent years. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio is widely accepted to have an important influence in maintaining normal intestinal homeostasis. Increased or decreased F/B ratio is regarded as dysbiosis, whereby the former is usually observed with obesity, and the latter with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Probiotics as live microorganisms can confer health benefits to the host when administered in adequate amounts. There is considerable evidence of their nutritional and immunosuppressive properties including reports that elucidate the association of probiotics with the F/B ratio, obesity, and IBD. Orally administered probiotics can contribute to the restoration of dysbiotic microbiota and to the prevention of obesity or IBD. However, as the effects of different probiotics on the F/B ratio differ, selecting the appropriate species or mixture is crucial. The most commonly tested probiotics for modifying the F/B ratio and treating obesity and IBD are from the genus . In this paper, we review the effects of probiotics on the F/B ratio that lead to weight loss or immunosuppression.

Citing Articles

Immunomodulation of Polysaccharides In Vivo Based on Microbiome and Metabolomics Approaches.

Wu Y, Sun J, Xie W, Xue S, Li X, Guo J Foods. 2025; 14(5).

PMID: 40077577 PMC: 11898905. DOI: 10.3390/foods14050874.

Evaluating the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) used for management of inflammatory bowel disease: a comprehensive review.

Shin S, Chen S, Xie K, Duhun S, Ortiz-Cerda T Redox Rep. 2025; 30(1):2471737.

PMID: 40056427 PMC: 11892051. DOI: 10.1080/13510002.2025.2471737.

Akkermansia muciniphila Modulates Central Nervous System Autoimmune Response and Cognitive Impairment by Inhibiting Hippocampal NLRP3-Mediated Neuroinflammation.

Li X, Lin D, Hu X, Shi X, Huang W, Ouyang Y CNS Neurosci Ther. 2025; 31(3):e70320.

PMID: 40050112 PMC: 11884925. DOI: 10.1111/cns.70320.

Administration of a Recombinant Fusion Protein of IFN-γ and CD154 Inhibited the Infection of Chicks with .

Zhang J, Ren G, Li W, Xie H, Yang Z, Wang J Vet Sci. 2025; 12(2).

PMID: 40005871 PMC: 11861687. DOI: 10.3390/vetsci12020112.

Gut Barrier Dysfunction and Microbiota Variations in Cryptosporidiosis: A Comprehensive Review.

Ali M, Xu C, Wang M, Hina Q, Ji Y, Anwar S Vet Sci. 2025; 12(2).

PMID: 40005845 PMC: 11861801. DOI: 10.3390/vetsci12020085.

References

Shin N, Whon T, Bae J . Proteobacteria: microbial signature of dysbiosis in gut microbiota. Trends Biotechnol. 2015; 33(9):496-503. DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2015.06.011. View

Lu Y, Li X, Liu S, Zhang Y, Zhang D . Toll-like Receptors and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Front Immunol. 2018; 9:72. PMC: 5797585. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00072. View

Liu Y, Tian X, He B, Hoang T, Taylor C, Blanchard E . DSM 17938 feeding of healthy newborn mice regulates immune responses while modulating gut microbiota and boosting beneficial metabolites. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2019; 317(6):G824-G838. PMC: 6962498. DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00107.2019. View

Adegbola S, Sahnan K, Warusavitarne J, Hart A, Tozer P . Anti-TNF Therapy in Crohn's Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2018; 19(8). PMC: 6121417. DOI: 10.3390/ijms19082244. View

Gagliardi A, Totino V, Cacciotti F, Iebba V, Neroni B, Bonfiglio G . Rebuilding the Gut Microbiota Ecosystem. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15(8). PMC: 6121872. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15081679. View

Brusaferro A, Cozzali R, Orabona C, Biscarini A, Farinelli E, Cavalli E . Is It Time to Use Probiotics to Prevent or Treat Obesity?. Nutrients. 2018; 10(11). PMC: 6266556. DOI: 10.3390/nu10111613. View

Lo Sasso G, Khachatryan L, Kondylis A, Battey J, Sierro N, Danilova N . Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Associated Changes in the Gut: Focus on Kazan Patients. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2020; 27(3):418-433. PMC: 7885336. DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izaa188. View

Chen D, Yang Z, Chen X, Huang Y, Yin B, Guo F . The effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus hsryfm 1301 on the intestinal microbiota of a hyperlipidemic rat model. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014; 14:386. PMC: 4197344. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-386. View

Jia K, Tong X, Wang R, Song X . The clinical effects of probiotics for inflammatory bowel disease: A meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018; 97(51):e13792. PMC: 6319782. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000013792. View

10.

Turnbaugh P, Ley R, Mahowald M, Magrini V, Mardis E, Gordon J . An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest. Nature. 2006; 444(7122):1027-31. DOI: 10.1038/nature05414. View

11.

Sohail M, Elrayess M, Al Thani A, Al-Asmakh M, Yassine H . Profiling the Oral Microbiome and Plasma Biochemistry of Obese Hyperglycemic Subjects in Qatar. Microorganisms. 2019; 7(12). PMC: 6955820. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7120645. View

12.

Kimura I, Ozawa K, Inoue D, Imamura T, Kimura K, Maeda T . The gut microbiota suppresses insulin-mediated fat accumulation via the short-chain fatty acid receptor GPR43. Nat Commun. 2013; 4:1829. PMC: 3674247. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2852. View

13.

Hu H, Park S, Jang H, Choi M, Choi M, Park K . Obesity Alters the Microbial Community Profile in Korean Adolescents. PLoS One. 2015; 10(7):e0134333. PMC: 4521691. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134333. View

14.

Ze X, Duncan S, Louis P, Flint H . Ruminococcus bromii is a keystone species for the degradation of resistant starch in the human colon. ISME J. 2012; 6(8):1535-43. PMC: 3400402. DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2012.4. View

15.

Gibiino G, Lopetuso L, Scaldaferri F, Rizzatti G, Binda C, Gasbarrini A . Exploring Bacteroidetes: Metabolic key points and immunological tricks of our gut commensals. Dig Liver Dis. 2018; 50(7):635-639. DOI: 10.1016/j.dld.2018.03.016. View

16.

Yin Y, Yu Q, Fu N, Liu X, Lu F . Effects of four Bifidobacteria on obesity in high-fat diet induced rats. World J Gastroenterol. 2010; 16(27):3394-401. PMC: 2904885. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i27.3394. View

17.

Vaiserman A, Romanenko M, Piven L, Moseiko V, Lushchak O, Kryzhanovska N . Differences in the gut Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio across age groups in healthy Ukrainian population. BMC Microbiol. 2020; 20(1):221. PMC: 7374892. DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01903-7. View

18.

Ishikawa H, Akedo I, Umesaki Y, Tanaka R, Imaoka A, Otani T . Randomized controlled trial of the effect of bifidobacteria-fermented milk on ulcerative colitis. J Am Coll Nutr. 2003; 22(1):56-63. DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2003.10719276. View

19.

Rowland I, Gibson G, Heinken A, Scott K, Swann J, Thiele I . Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components. Eur J Nutr. 2017; 57(1):1-24. PMC: 5847071. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-017-1445-8. View

20.

Walker A, Sanderson J, Churcher C, Parkes G, Hudspith B, Rayment N . High-throughput clone library analysis of the mucosa-associated microbiota reveals dysbiosis and differences between inflamed and non-inflamed regions of the intestine in inflammatory bowel disease. BMC Microbiol. 2011; 11:7. PMC: 3032643. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-7. View