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Gas and the Microbiome

  • Neuromuscular Disorders of the Gastrointestinal Tract (S Rao, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Humans are host to trillions of microbial colonizers that contribute significantly to human health and disease. Advances in sequencing and other technologies have facilitated dramatic advances in our knowledge of the types and number of organisms colonizing different areas of the body, and while our knowledge of the roles played by the different bacteria, fungi, and archaea has increased dramatically, there remains much to uncover. The microbes that colonize the human gut contribute to vitamin biosynthesis, immune modulation, and the breakdown of otherwise indigestible foods for nutrient harvest. Bacteria and archaea produce various gases as by-products of fermentation, and it is becoming increasingly understood that these gases have both direct and indirect effects on the gut, and may also be used as diagnostic markers, e.g., hydrogen production as measured by breath testing can be used to diagnose bacterial overgrowth. In this article, we review the roles and effects of hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the human gut.

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Conflict of Interest

Mark Pimentel, Ruchi Mathur, and Christopher Chang declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GI Motility Program, Division of Gastroenterology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8730 Alden Drive, Suite 201E, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA

    Mark Pimentel, Ruchi Mathur & Christopher Chang

  2. Diabetes Program, Division of Endocrinology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Mark Pimentel, Ruchi Mathur & Christopher Chang

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  1. Mark Pimentel
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  2. Ruchi Mathur
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  3. Christopher Chang
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Correspondence to Mark Pimentel.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neuromuscular Disorders of the Gastrointestinal Tract

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Pimentel, M., Mathur, R. & Chang, C. Gas and the Microbiome. Curr Gastroenterol Rep 15, 356 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-013-0356-y

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