ROLE OF MICROBIOTA IN MAINTAINING THE HOMEOSTASIS IN THE HUMAN BODY

The human body is believed to be occupied by around 4 × 1013 microorganism cells, which is 10 times the number of cells of the human body. Multidisciplinary studies conducted worldwide by microbiologists and physicians suggest that the microorganisms which colonize the human body can more actively influence the state of health than previously thought. The most important role in the regulation of the homeostasis is played by ontocenoses of the intestine. Imbalanced taxonomic composition and number of intestinal microbiota may contribute to the development of numerous infectious (HIV), metabolic (diabetes, obesity) and immunological (allergy, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis) diseases, as well as conditions associated with various organs (kidneys, liver, heart, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease), cancer (colon) and the nervous system (autism, sleeping problems, stress, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease). The composition of the intestinal microbiota can be modified by applying a specific type of diet.