Dietary Polysaccharides and Gut Microbiota Ecosystem

Abstract

The intestinal microbiota is a community of microorganisms that subsists within the gastrointestinal ecosystem. In human health, the role of the gastrointestinal microbiota is to maintain a dynamic balance with the host. This balance plays both local and remote roles in critical physiological processes, particularly inflammation, and the immune response [1]. Natural polysaccharides are polymeric carbohydrate macromolecules and sources of fermentable dietary fiber. Polysaccharides are the most abundant dietary components in the gut microbiota and are deeply involved in host health [2]. Emerging evidence shows the involvement of polysaccharides in numerous functions in gut microbiota-host symbiosis, such as microbial interactions with endogenous host glycans, and the key role of microbial polysaccharides [3]. Additionally, bacterial polysaccharides act as immunomodulators, and host-derived polysaccharides protect host cells from pathogenic microbial neighbors and affect overall gut health through interactions with gut microbes. The growth of certain beneficial intestinal bacteria can be promoted by polysaccharides (among other things) during intestinal fermentation, changing the microbiota profile of the gut and altering both local and remote host physiology, which can reduce disease development [3,4].