The gastrointestinal tract of humans
Bacteria represent the majority, structurally simplest, and the oldest life forms on earth. Among all living organisms, they represent the only grouping whose cellular organization is prokaryotic. Bacteria have been identified in fossils obtained from rocks whose age is about 3.8 billion years ago and have been found to exist for more than 2 billion years ahead of eukaryotic organisms. Broadly, bacteria are categorized into two; those who are good and those which are harmful or bad.
The gastrointestinal tract of humans is estimated to have more than 1014 bacteria, which is about ten times the number of cells that the human body has. In the recent past, gut bacteria have been found to play vital roles that include CNS functions, maturation of immune system, and healthy development, among other purposes. Given, bacteria exist in the gut with other microbial , microbiota imbalance has been found to cause a number of diseases that include CNS diseases, allergy , gastrointestinal disorder , cardiovascular diseases and obesity. IBD, which is generally associated with inflamed bowel, has been found to affect many people in the United States. IBD is caused by changes in composition of bacteria in the gut. In some studies, changes in bacteria found in the gut have been found to cause both type one and type two diabetes.
In some studies, it has been established that bidirectional communication among the CNS and the gastrointestinal tract continuously takes place via several routes that include neuronal, hormonal, and immune pathways and which are dictated by microbiota composition. The interaction has led to the axis of microbiota-gut-brain concept and that a change in the formation of microbiota
located in the intestines could lead to diseases associated with inflammation of the CNS, which include multiple sclerosis, among others.
In the food industry, good bacteria have been found to play a critical role, especially when it comes to the aspect of consumers being concerned about foods that are processed and chemical preservatives. The society willy readily accept food that is naturally preserved in the lab as a way of ensuring that they end up with better health. The bacteriocins is a necessary group in the food industry . They are ribosomally synthesized to stop spoilage and inhibit the development of pathogenic bacteria in food. Bacteriocinogenic labs have also been found to be applied in food processing as starter culture and which has been found to promote the health of consumers, given that they have also been found to be digestible. Bacteria in the human gut have also been found to be useful for immune stimulation. Lactobacilli and which are able to penetrate the intestinal wall are able to stimulate adaptive as well as the innate immune response by stimulating specific immune receptors. It can, therefore, be concluded that bacteria have an essential role in life despite most of them being bad.