Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology

Abstract

The Elderly Intestinal Microbiota: Opportunities for Probiotics

Forssten SD and Ibrahim F

The composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota appears to change upon ageing as a result of changes in gut physiology, diet, as well as immunological changes. The elucidation of the age-related changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota is essential for finding proper dietary interventions for maintaining health and prophylaxis of diseases in elderly. Therefore, we reviewed the changes in the intestinal microbiota in elderly compared to adults and the potential use of probiotics to restore the microbial balance in elderly. Studies regarding the changes in the elderly microbiota compared to adults so far are limited and have showed inconsistent findings. The inconsistency could be attributed in part by the use of conventional culture techniques vs. molecular methods for the identification of fecal microbiota, but there still exists some inconsistency even within studies that applied only molecular methods. However, there is some evidence that a decrease in bifidobacterial diversity accompanied with an increase in bacteroides diversity is a consequence of old age. Although, there is still a great deal of research to be conducted to systematically uncover the changes of elderly microbiota and the factors driving this change, the research exploring the opportunities of probiotics in elderly disease is already ongoing, and the recent work in this area will be reviewed.