Toxicomicrobiomics: Unveiling the Role of Human Microbiome in Drug and Xenobiotic Metabolism

The human microbiota is distinct for an individual and affects the development and responsiveness of the individual towards diseases. The microbiome is flexible to changes, depending upon age, gender, genome, exposure to environmental factors and xenobiotics. These changes may cause a modulation in microbial composition, which may have a negative impact on human health. A state of dysbiosis may result, which may lead to adverse health outcomes and elevate the levels of toxicities induced by a few xenobiotics. The emerging field of toxicomicrobiomics focuses on interaction between the constantly evolving microbiome and surrounding toxins. These influences are adequately explained by interaction of microbes present in host’s gastrointestinal tract, skin, urogenital tract and oral cavity, with xenobiotics present in food, drugs and environment. Furthermore, this field of study links microbiology, bioinformatics, systems pharmacology, and toxicology with corresponding pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics. The present study attempts to bridge the gap between environmental pollution and human microbiome. This review aims to consolidate classical and recent findings to provide a fundamental understanding of toxicomicrobiomics the future prospects involve improvising the precision treatment of several diseases.