A short communication written by Noora Nurminen et al. has been published online in Future Microbiology. Current attempts to modulate the human microbiota and immune responses are based on probiotics or human-derived bacterial transplants. In this study, the researchers investigated microbial modulation by soil and plant-based material. They performed a pilot study in which healthy adults were exposed to the varied microbial community of a soil- and plant-based material. The results showed that the method was safe and feasible; exposure was associated with an increase in gut microbial diversity. If these findings are reproduced in larger studies nature-derived microbial exposure strategies could be further developed for testing their efficacy in the treatment and prevention of immune-mediated diseases.
Future Microbiology: Nature-derived microbiota exposure as a novel immunomodulatory approach