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World J Meta-Anal. Nov 28, 2019; 7(9): 423-427
Published online Nov 28, 2019. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v7.i9.423
Fecal microbiota transplantation: Historical review and current perspective
Ping-Chung Leung, King-Fai Cheng
Ping-Chung Leung, King-Fai Cheng, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Ping-Chung Leung, State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Hong Kong, China
Author contributions: Leung PC conceived and designed the study; Leung PC and Cheng KF wrote the manuscript; Cheng KF collected related references.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict 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 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/
Corresponding author: Ping-Chung Leung, PhD, Professor, Director, Centre for Clinical Trials on Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. pingcleung@cuhk.edu.hk
Telephone: +852-2-2528868
Received: September 5, 2019
Peer-review started: September 5, 2019
First decision: October 14, 2019
Revised: October 21, 2019
Accepted: October 25, 2019
Article in press: October 25, 2019
Published online: November 28, 2019
Processing time: 87 Days and 22.2 Hours
Abstract

There is a growing interest in the use of fecal transplantation for chronic intestinal conditions. We aim to review the methodology and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation and the evidence to support its use in treating a variety of diseases. We reviewed the history of fecal transplantation in China and found that there were varieties of fecal material used in ancient China. The first written record on fecal treatment was found in an ancient tomb in Middle China. This paper explores the historical and current perspectives of fecal microbiota transplantation. The ancient fecal transplantations did not have any background support from life science. In those ancient days, short of knowledge about bacteria, clinicians were aiming at a change of intestinal environment. Today, we aim at a change of the intestinal microbiome.

Keywords: Fecal transplantation; Microbiota; Intestinal microbiome; Microenvironment

Core tip: There is a growing interest in the use of fecal transplantation for chronic intestinal conditions. In the article, we reviewed the history of fecal transplantation in China. The first written record on the oral use of fecal matter was in 770 BC. Although the ancient fecal transplantations did not have any evidence from life science, the ancient healers were fully aware of the acting value of gastrointestinal variety. Today, researchers in the field are working on various ways to change the microbiome at different levels of the gut.