Eubiotic properties of rifaximin: Disruption of the traditional concepts in gut microbiota modulation

Table 1 Studies investigating the effects of rifaximin on gut microbiota composition

Ref.	Patients/model	Technique	Rifaximin dose	Changes in gut microbiota after rifaximin
Brigidi et al[77], 2002	12 pts UC	Standard bacteriological procedures	1800 mg/d, 3 cycles of 10 d followed by 25 d of wash-out	Enterococci: <
				Coliform: =
				Bifidobacteria: >
				Lactobacilli: <
				Clostridium perfrigens: > than <
				Bacteroides:
				unpredictable variations
				Candida: =
				Overall composition:
				not explored
Maccaferri et al[78], 2010	4 pts colonic active CD	Continuous	1800 mg/d	Bifidobacterium: >
		culture colonic model system, FISH, quantitative PCR, PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis		Atopobium: >
				Faecalibacterium prausnitzii: >
				Overall composition: =
Bajaj et al[76], 2013	20 pts HE	454 pyrosequencing	1100 mg/d	Overall composition: =
Xu et al[79], 2014	Rat model of visceral hyperalgesia	Quantitative PCR, 454 pyrosequencing	150 mg/kg, twice daily	Lactobacillus: >
				Clostridiaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Peptostreptococcaceae: <
				Overall composition: 84% reduction in bacterial load
Soldi et al[80], 2015	15 pts non-C IBS	Real-time PCR, Illumina pyrosequencing	1650 mg/d for 14 d	Faecalibacterium prausnitzii: >
				Clostridiaceae, Streptococcaceae: <
				Bacteroidaceae, Prevotellaceae: >
				Overall composition: =
Ponziani et al[81], 2016	20 pts CD, UC, non-C IBS, DD, HE	454 pyrosequencing	1200 mg/d for 14 d	Lactobacillus: >
				Roseburia, Haemophilus, Veillonella and
				Streptococcus: <
				Overall composition: =

Pts: Patients; UC: Ulcerative colitis; CD: Crohn’s disease; FISH: Fluorescence in situ hybridization; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; HE: Cirrhosis with hepatic encephalopathy; non-C IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome without constipation; DD: Diverticular disease.