Digestive System & Microbes

The greatest reservoir of human flora is gut flora, which consists of microorganisms that live in the digestive systems of animals. The interaction between gut flora and humans is mutualistic rather than commensal (harmless coexistence). Fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system, inhibiting the growth of hazardous bacteria, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host, and producing hormones to direct the host to store lipids are all activities performed by gut flora. According to research, the link between gut flora and humans is more than commensal (harmless coexistence), but rather mutualistic. The microflora of the intestine is a complex ecology with approximately 400 bacterial species. By interfering with pathogens, the gut microbiota may help to avoid infection. Antibiotics that disrupt the natural flora can promote both foreign pathogen infection and endogenous pathogen overgrowth. The microbiome (microbial population) and the host have a mutualistic connection in which both partners benefit; nonetheless, pathogens can infiltrate and cause disease under specific circumstances. The colon has the largest microbial density of any environment on Earth, with 300 to 1000 distinct species represented. However, only roughly 30 or 40 species account for 99 percent of gut bacteria. Bacteria can account for up to 60% of the dry mass of faeces. Although anaerobe bacteria make up nearly all of the bacteria in the gut, aerobic bacteria thrive in the cecum.