Volume 30, Issue 176, October 2026

The Gut Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Role in Pathogenesis and Possibilities for Therapeutic Modulation. A Narrative Review

Agata Choroś^♦, Daniel Glinka, Zuzanna Domagała, Szymon Siudak, Oliwia Dudek, Martyna Olszyna, Maria Ryśkiewicz, Daria Kózka, Cezary Jasiński, Barbara Durma

Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Agata Choroś, Collegium Medicum, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

ABSTRACT

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract with an unexplained cause, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. This review condenses current knowledge on the role of the gut microbiota in IBD pathogenesis. It discusses the composition of the gut microbiota in healthy individuals and the changes observed in patients with IBD, including the bacteriome, virome, and mycobiome. The authors presented dysbiosis as a potential factor in IBD inflammation. They discussed current options for modulating the microbiota, focusing on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), dietary interventions, and nutraceuticals. Available studies suggest that restoring intestinal homeostasis in patients with IBD may be a valuable adjunctive treatment, and FMT is particularly successful in patients with ulcerative colitis. In the case of Crohn’s disease, the results were less certain, indicating the need for further research. In the future, therapies targeting a patient’s microbiota may become an important component of IBD treatment.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal microbiota, fecal microbiota transplantation, dietary changes in IBD

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e202ms3984

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Published: 18 October 2026