Microorganisms in

Gastrointestinal
Tract
▪ GI tract

• Mouth
• Pharynx
• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small Intestine
• Large Intestine

• Various parts of GI tract differ in their environmental characteristics,

chemical compositions and physiological properties. Therefore types
and number of microflora vary in different parts.

• In general number of microorganisms increases from stomach to

small intestine to large intestine.

• The GIT contains normal microbiota, including archaea, bacteria,

fungi, protists and even viruses.
 At human birth, the stomach and gastrointestinal tract are
usually sterile. But, with the first intake of food, colonization
by bacteria commences.

The stomach and gastrointestinal tract are colonized by

microorganisms that perform function beneficial to the
host, including the manufacture of essential vitamins, and
the prevention of colonization by undesirable microbes.
Stomach
• Is an extremely acidic environment (pH 1.5-3.5) due to the
gastric juices that break down food and kill many ingested
microbes; this help prevent infection from pathogens.

• Stomach receive large number of microorganism from

mouth along with food and water but antimicrobial activity
of HCl kills most of them. Few microorganisms that can
tolerate acidity of stomach can form resident normal flora
of stomach.

• Number of microorganisms in stomach increases

immediately after ingestion of food but number soon
decreases after gastric juice is secreted
Stomach
▪ Lactobacillus acidophilus

• Generally, Very good for gut

Health. They produces lactic
acid which may prevent harmful
bacteria from colonizing the intestines.

• ensures the lining of the intestines stays intact.

• when consumed with other probiotics may help prevent and

treat diarrhea

• it can help treat and prevent vaginal infections

Stomach

▪ Candida albicans
Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a
common member of the human gut flora. It does not
proliferate outside the human body. It is detected in the
gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults
▪ Helicobacter pylori

• present in the stomach of many

people. This bacterium is now
known to be the leading cause
of ulcers.

• Chronic inflammation is considered to be the strongest risk

factor for gastric cancer.
Small Intestine
 Small Intestine
• Less harsh and is able to support microbial communities.
• Intestine become less acidic and hence number of
microorganism increases.

Duodenum

- Duodenum is adjacent to stomach and hence it is

slightly acidic in nature. Therefore microorganisms in
duodenum is similar to that of stomach.
Small Intestine (Duodenum)
▪ Lactobacilli
▪ Enterococcus faecalis
• Provide a defense against something that is more harmful
(such as an intestinal parasite), acting as a colonization
factor, or facilitating nutrient acquisition from prokaryotic
and eukaryoric sources.
Small Intestine (Jejunum)

lactobacillus, Enterococci, Candida albicans and Diphtheroid

are found.
▪ Diphtheroids
Small Intestine (Ileum)

▪ Clostridium perfringes
is a spore-forming gram-positive bacterium that is found in many
environmental sources as well as in the intestines of humans and animals. C.
perfringens is commonly found on raw meat and poultry. It prefers to grow in
conditions with very little or no oxygen, and under ideal conditions can
multiply very rapidly. Some strains of C. perfringens produce a toxin in the
intestine that causes illness

▪ Bacteroides
Bacteroides species are normally mutualistic, making up the most substantial
portion of the mammalian gastrointestinal microbiota, where they play a
fundamental role in processing of complex molecules to simpler ones in the
host intestine.
▪ Escherichia coli
E.coli is a type of bacteria that normally lives in your intestines.
Its also found in the gut of some animals.
Large Intestine
Large intestine

Enterobacteria Bifidobacterium

Bacteroides Eubacterium
▪ Enterobacteriaceae
– is a family of gram-negative bacilli that are responsible for a broad
range of infections in humans and animals. They may be motile or
nonmotile, depending on the species. They are aerobic or facultatively
anaerobic in growth and have a predilection for inhabiting
the gastrointestinal tract

▪ Bacteroides
– function as normal flora
– are capable of breaking down and processing large complex molecules
within the intestine.
– The species benefits the host by preventing pathogenic
microorganisms from forming colonies inside the intestines, but this
only happens if the microbe is strictly retained in the gut.
▪ Bifidobacterium
• Members of the genus Bifidobacterium are among the first microbes to
colonize the human gastrointestinal tract and are believed to exert
positive health benefits on their host. Due to their purported health-
promoting properties, bifidobacteria have been incorporated into many
functional foods as active ingredients.

▪ Eubacterium
Large intestine
Peptococcus Clostridia

Ruminococcus Lactobacilli
▪ Peptococcus

▪ Ruminococcus
Serve to degrade and convert complex polysaccharides into a
variety of nutrients for their hosts

▪ Clostridia
THE END
REPORTED BY:

ANGNI, Johana
ALI, Hamima
GURO, Haira
GURO, Saremah
SADICK, Sohaira
 Factors that influences number and types of normal flora in GI
tracts:

• Diet: Types of foods affects number and types of microflora in GI

tract. In vegetarian diet the number of sacchrolytic microorganism
such as E. coli increases and if meat is consumed proteolytic
organism such as Clostridium

• HCl and Bile: HCl in stomach and bile in duodenum are antimicrobial
so the number of microorganisms is lower in stomach and
duodenum than other GI tract.

• Antibiotics: if antibiotics is taken orally the number of

microorganism decreases. Prolong antibiotic therapy decreases
significant number of microflora of GI tract.

• Physiological condition: during diarrhea number of microbiota

decreases due to washing of intestinal tract.
 Role of Intestinal normal flora:

• Synthesize vitamin B12 and vitamin K

• Produces various carbohydrate metabolizing
enzymesand helps in food digestion. Eg. Cellulase,
glucosidase, galactosidase
• Helps in steroid metabolism
• Produces gases such as CH4 and CO2
• Produces other substances such as Indole, Skatole,
butyric acid etc.
 Functions of GIT microbes
Microbes perform a host of useful functions such as-
• Fermenting unused energy
• Training the immune system
• Preventing growth of pathogenic bacteria
• Regulating the development of the gut
• Producing vitamins, such as biotin and vit. K
• Producing hormones to direct the host to store fats
• Repress microbial growth through the barrier effect
• Harmful; yeasts and bacteria like clostridium difficile are
unable to grow excessively due to competition from the
helpful gut flora
Large intestine
• Contains abundant microbiota that is
important for normal function
• Bacteriodetes (especially the genera
bacteroides and Prevotella)
• Firmicutes (Clostridium)