Internal connections between dietary intake and gut microbiota homeostasis in disease progression of ulcerative colitis: a review

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic systematic inflammation disorder with increasing incidence, unknown pathogenesis, limited drug treatment, and abundant medical expenses. Dietary intake, as a daily indispensable environment factor, is closely related to UC pathogenesis and prevention. The underlying interactions between dietary intake and UC progression are implicated with the modulation of gut microbiome as well as microbial metabolites, suggesting the complex and systematic characteristics of UC. However, the triangular relationships with dietary intake, gut microbiota homeostasis, and UC have not been well summarized so far. Here we review the recent studies of dietary intake on the regulation of gut microbiome homeostasis as well as modulation of UC progression. These findings suggest that varieties in dietary patterns result in the production of diverse microbial fermentation metabolites, which contribute to gut microbiome homeostasis through multiple manipulations including immune modulation, inflammation restriction as well as epithelial barrier maintenance, thus finally determine the fate of UC progression and give implications for functional food development for prevention and treatment of UC patients.