Antibiotics and the gut microbiome: Understanding the impact on human health
Rahul Harikumar Lathakumari, Leela Kakithakara Vajravelu, Abhishek Satheesan, Sujith Sri Surya Ravi, Jayaprakash Thulukanam
Abstract
Antibiotic use has become problematic because it unintentionally upsets the delicate equilibrium of the human gut microbiota. Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, that were once regarded as life-saving treatments for bacterial infections instead indiscriminately destroy the good bacteria that are essential for preserving gut health in addition to their target pathogens. Antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis, the term for this disturbance, sets off a series of adverse reactions that negatively impact the gut microbiome, resulting in a decline in microbial diversity and the creation of an environment that is favourable to the establishment of strains that are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic exposure has wide-ranging effects from prenatal to adulthood; research has shown long-term effects include increased risk of antibiotic resistance, obesity, allergies, asthma, and altered metabolic processes. This thorough investigation emphasises the critical need for a more sophisticated knowledge of the effects of antibiotic therapy on the gut microbiota and the necessity of implementing all-encompassing solutions that reduce its detrimental effects and protect human health throughout life.