Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a nonspecific chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite recent advances in therapeutics and newer management strategies, IBD largely remains untreatable. Helminth therapy is a promising alternative therapeutic for IBD that has gained some attention in the last two decades. Helminths have immunomodulatory effects and can alter the gut microbiota. The immunomodulatory effects include a strong Th2 immune response, T-regulatory cell response, and the production of regulatory cytokines. Although concrete evidence regarding the efficacy of helminth therapy in IBD is lacking, clinical studies and studies done in animal models have shown some promise. Most clinical studies have shown that helminth therapy is safe and easily tolerable. Extensive work has been done on the whipworm Trichuris, but other helminths, including Schistosoma, Trichinella, Heligmosomoides, and Ancylostoma, have also been explored for pre-clinical and animal studies. This review article summarizes the potential of helminth therapy as an alternative therapeutic or an adjuvant to the existing therapeutic procedures for IBD treatment.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial disease, which is thought to be an interplay between genetic, environment, microbiota, and immune-mediated factors. Dysbiosis in the gut microbial composition, caused by antibiotics and diet, is closely related to the initiation and progression of IBD. Differences in gut microbiota composition between IBD patients and healthy individuals have been found, with reduced biodiversity of commensal microbes and colonization of opportunistic microbes in IBD patients. Gut microbiota can, therefore, potentially be used for diagnosing and prognosticating IBD, and predicting its treatment response. Currently, there are no curative therapies for IBD. Microbiota-based interventions, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, have been recognized as promising therapeutic strategies. Clinical studies and studies done in animal models have provided sufficient evidence that microbiota-based interventions may improve inflammation, the remission rate, and microscopic aspects of IBD. Further studies are required to better understand the mechanisms of action of such interventions. This will help in enhancing their effectiveness and developing personalized therapies. The present review summarizes the relationship between gut microbiota and IBD immunopathogenesis. It also discusses the use of gut microbiota as a noninvasive biomarker and potential therapeutic option.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Chitosan and its derivatives: A novel approach to gut microbiota modulation and immune system enhancement Great Iruoghene Edo, Alice Njolke Mafe, Ali B.M. Ali, Patrick Othuke Akpoghelie, Emad Yousif, Jesse Innocent Apameio, Endurance Fegor Isoje, Ufuoma Augustina Igbuku, Yasal Garba, Arthur Efeoghene Athan Essaghah, Dina S. Ahmed, Huzaifa Umar, Dilber Uzun Oz International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.2025; 289: 138633. CrossRef
Advances in bio-polymer coatings for probiotic microencapsulation: chitosan and beyond for enhanced stability and controlled release Great Iruoghene Edo, Alice Njolke Mafe, Nawar. F. Razooqi, Ebuka Chukwuma Umelo, Tayser Sumer Gaaz, Endurance Fegor Isoje, Ufuoma Augustina Igbuku, Patrick Othuke Akpoghelie, Rapheal Ajiri Opiti, Arthur Efeoghene Athan Essaghah, Dina S. Ahmed, Huzaifa Uma Designed Monomers and Polymers.2025; 28(1): 1. CrossRef
Helminths in alternative therapeutics of inflammatory bowel disease Himani Pandey, Daryl W. T. Tang, Sunny H. Wong, Devi Lal Intestinal Research.2025; 23(1): 8. CrossRef
Protective effect of low-dose lactulose in dextran sulfate sodium induced ulcerative colitis model of rats Min Cui, Wei-Ming Yang, Ping Yao Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Unraveling the Role of Fusobacterium nucleatum in Colorectal Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Pathogenic Insights Linda Galasso, Fabrizio Termite, Irene Mignini, Giorgio Esposto, Raffaele Borriello, Federica Vitale, Alberto Nicoletti, Mattia Paratore, Maria Elena Ainora, Antonio Gasbarrini, Maria Assunta Zocco Cancers.2025; 17(3): 368. CrossRef
Lactobacillus vaginalis alleviates DSS induced colitis by regulating the gut microbiota and increasing the production of 3-indoleacrylic acid Zhuoya Wang, Tian Liu, Li Liu, Jian Xie, Furui Tang, Yimin Pi, Yuchun Zhong, Zhidong He, Wenming Zhang, Cihua Zheng Pharmacological Research.2025; 213: 107663. CrossRef
Therapeutic systems based on natural gut microbiota modulators: the latest advances in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease Zelin Guan, Peilin Niu, Qichao Tan, Yidong Wang, Shujing Deng, Danyang Wang, Kai Dong, Jianfeng Xing, Cuiyu You Materials Advances.2025; 6(5): 1578. CrossRef
Metabolic musculoskeletal disorders in patients with inflammatory bowel disease Young Joo Yang, Seong Ran Jeon The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine.2025; 40(2): 181. CrossRef
Photobiomodulation and the oral-gut microbiome axis: therapeutic potential and challenges Neda Hakimiha, Somayeh Jahani Sherafat, E-Liisa Laakso, Reza Fekrazad Frontiers in Medicine.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Editorial: Environments-pathogens-the gut microbiota and host diseases Jinbo Xiong, Zunji Shi Frontiers in Microbiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Endoplasmic reticulum stress: A possible connection between intestinal inflammation and neurodegenerative disorders Giorgio Vivacqua, Romina Mancinelli, Stefano Leone, Rosa Vaccaro, Ludovica Garro, Simone Carotti, Ludovica Ceci, Paolo Onori, Luigi Pannarale, Antonio Franchitto, Eugenio Gaudio, Arianna Casini Neurogastroenterology & Motility.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Advances in Precision Medicine Approaches for Colorectal Cancer: From Molecular Profiling to Targeted Therapies Neelakanta Sarvashiva Kiran, Chandrashekar Yashaswini, Rahul Maheshwari, Sankha Bhattacharya, Bhupendra G. Prajapati ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.2024; 7(4): 967. CrossRef
Healing from Within: How Gut Microbiota Predicts IBD Treatment Success—A Systematic Review Luana Alexandrescu, Alina Doina Nicoara, Doina Ecaterina Tofolean, Alexandra Herlo, Andreea Nelson Twakor, Cristina Tocia, Anamaria Trandafir, Andrei Dumitru, Eugen Dumitru, Cristian Florentin Aftenie, Ionela Preotesoiu, Elena Dina, Ioan Tiberiu Tofolean International Journal of Molecular Sciences.2024; 25(15): 8451. CrossRef
Effect of Mutant and Engineered High-Acetate-Producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii Strains in Dextran Sodium Sulphate-Induced Colitis Sara Deleu, Inge Jacobs, Jorge F. Vazquez Castellanos, Sare Verstockt, Bruna Trindade de Carvalho, Ana Subotić, Bram Verstockt, Kaline Arnauts, Lowie Deprez, Eva Vissers, Matthias Lenfant, Greet Vandermeulen, Gert De Hertogh, Kristin Verbeke, Gianluca Mat Nutrients.2024; 16(16): 2668. CrossRef
The emerging role of the gut microbiota and its application in inflammatory bowel disease Xiu Wang, Jianhua Peng, Peipei Cai, Yuxuan Xia, Chengxue Yi, Anquan Shang, Francis Atim Akanyibah, Fei Mao Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.2024; 179: 117302. CrossRef
Bifidogenic Effect of Human Milk Oligosaccharides on Pediatric IBD Fecal Microbiota Nize Otaru, Danica Bajic, Pieter Van den Abbeele, Saskia Vande Velde, Stephanie Van Biervliet, Robert E. Steinert, Ateequr Rehman Microorganisms.2024; 12(10): 1977. CrossRef
Analysis of the Preventive Effect of Lonicera caerulea Pomace and Its Isolated Components on Colitis in Mice Based on Gut Microbiota and Serum Metabolomics Zinuo Zhou, Xinwen Huang, Baixi Zhang Antioxidants.2024; 13(12): 1478. CrossRef
Gut microbiota mediated T cells regulation and autoimmune diseases Nabeel Khalid Bhutta, Xiujin Xu, Cuiqin Jian, Yifan Wang, Yi Liu, Jinlyu Sun, Bingnan Han, Shandong Wu, Ansar Javeed Frontiers in Microbiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Reduced gut microbiota diversity in ulcerative colitis patients with latent tuberculosis infection during vedolizumab therapy: insights on prophylactic anti-tuberculosis effects Yibing Hu, Zhenping Wu, Xiaoyun Yang, Jin Ding, Qunying Wang, Hao Fang, Lujian Zhu, Minli Hu BMC Microbiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef