Clinical and biological significance of the relationship between gut microbiota and liver disease

Table 1 Therapeutic strategies targeting the gut microbiota

Therapeutic strategy	Contents	Clinical benefit
Antibiotics	Prophylactic and therapeutic use of antibiotics in cirrhosis	Treatment of bacterial infections in cirrhosis, including SBP
Probiotics	Useful microbiota	Reducing gut microbiota permeability (“leaky gut”)
		Reduction of systemic inflammation
		Correction of intestinal dysbiosis
		Effect on metabolism
Prebiotics	Inulin, fructooligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, oligosaccharides derived from starch and glucose, pectin oligosaccharides, non-carbohydrate oligosaccharides	Prebiotics stimulate the growth and activity of their own beneficial microflora	Stimulation of the growth of beneficial microbiota
			Production of SCFAs
			Suppression of pathogens
			Reduction of ammonia levels (in cirrhosis)
Synbiotics	Combinations of probiotics and prebiotics	Synbiotic supplements may improve liver function, regulate lipid metabolism, and reduce the degree of liver fibrosis
Fecal microbiota transplantation	Fecal microbiota from a healthy donor is injected into the gastrointestinal tract of another patient	Clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of the procedure in infectious and non-infectious liver diseases

SBP: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis; SCFAs: Short-chain fatty acids.