A review: Roles of carbohydrates in human diseases through regulation of imbalanced intestinal microbiota

Gut microbiota plays a key role in the maintenance of human health. In most cases, carbohydrates can be fermented by gut microbiota as substrates. By such degradation reaction, the abundances, activities and metabolite production of gut microbiota will be regulated and thus prevent the occurrence of human diseases such as glycolipid metabolism disorders, enteric abnormality, aging and neurodegeneration, cancers and depression. In this paper, we reviewed the roles of carbohydrates in promoting human health through gut microbial regulation, as well as further studies on the regulatory mechanism and potential application of carbohydrates, which need to be strengthened in the future.