Prebiotics and probiotics in altering microbiota: Implications in colorectal cancer

The human microbiome is the entire collection of microbes residing on the surface and within the body, which are 10-times higher than the total number of cells in the body. Of this, the gut is the most exhaustive locale and its microbiome hosts about 1000 bacterial species vital for host physiology and survival. This dynamic environment undergoes constant change (microbial dysbiosis) influenced chiefly by diet and dietary habits, the environment, and the alteration in the host physiological conditions, resulting in a shift in the microbial composition from beneficial symbionts to pathobionts, leading to gut-associated complications including colorectal cancer (CRC). Modulation of gut microbiome by probiotics and/or prebiotics or fecal transplantation could be employed to manipulate the crosstalk between the host immune system and gut flora; indeed this could be a novel strategy to prevent inflammation and CRC. With this milieu, this chapter focuses on gut inflammation and CRC, and the role of prebiotics and probiotics in their prevention.