Li Y, Zhang XH, Wang ZK. Microbiota treatment of functional constipation: Current status and future prospects. World J Hepatol 2024; 16(5): 776-783 [PMID: 38818289 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i5.776]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zi-Kai Wang, Doctor, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China. wangzikai301@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. May 27, 2024; 16(5): 776-783 Published online May 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i5.776
Microbiota treatment of functional constipation: Current status and future prospects
Yan Li, Xiao-Han Zhang, Zi-Kai Wang
Yan Li, Xiao-Han Zhang, Zi-Kai Wang, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
Xiao-Han Zhang, Medical School, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Zi-Kai Wang, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
Author contributions: Li Y and Zhang XH wrote this manuscript and contributed equally; Wang ZK conceived and edited the manuscript.
Supported bythe Project of the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. NCRCG-PLAGH-2023005.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zi-Kai Wang, Doctor, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China. wangzikai301@126.com
Received: December 27, 2023 Revised: February 5, 2024 Accepted: April 3, 2024 Published online: May 27, 2024 Processing time: 147 Days and 1.9 Hours
Abstract
Functional constipation (FC) is a common disorder that is characterized by difficult stool passage, infrequent bowel movement, or both. FC is highly prevalent, recurs often, accompanies severe diseases, and affects quality of life; therefore, safe and effective therapy with long-term benefits is urgently needed. Microbiota treatment has potential value for FC treatment. Microbiota treatments include modulators such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Some probiotics and prebiotics have been adopted, and the efficacy of other microbiota modulators is being explored. FMT is considered an emerging field because of its curative effects; nevertheless, substantial work must be performed before clinical implementation.
Core tip: Intestinal microbiota imbalance participates in functional constipation (FC) development. Gut microbiota modulation has potential clinical applications in the treatment of FC. The efficacy of specialized microbiota modulators and fecal microbiota transplantation should be explored.
