Over the past recent years, a great number of studies have been directed toward the evaluation of the human
host–gut microbiota interaction, with the goal to progress the understanding of the etiology of several complex
diseases. Alterations in the intestinal microbiota associated with inflammatory bowel disease are well supported
by literature data and have been widely accepted by the research community. The concomitant implementation
of high-throughput sequencing techniques to analyze and characterize the composition of the intestinal
microbiota has reinforced the view that inflammatory bowel disease results from altered interactions between
gut microbes and the mucosal immune system and has raised the possibility that some form of modulation of
the intestinal microbiota may constitute a potential therapeutic basis for the disease. The aim of this review is
to describe the changes of gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease, focusing the attention on its involvement
in the pathogenesis of the disease, and to review and discuss the therapeutic potential to modify the intestinal
microbial population with antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation.
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