Assessing the gut microbiota in human health and disease: a protocol for a scoping review analyzing research conducted in Southern Africa ed

Summary of the study: The gut microbiota has been immensely studied over the past years because of its involvement in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. However, gut microbiota data in Africa is limited. Therefore, it is crucial to have studies that reflect various populations in order to fully capture global microbial diversity. In the proposed review we will describe the gut microbiota's ap-appearance in terms of gut microbiota markers, in both health and disease in African populations. We will also determine if the studies to be included in the review would provide enough data to identify quantifiable gut microbiome traits that could be used as health or disease markers, identify the types of diseases that were mostly focused on in relation to gut microbiota research in Africa, as well as to discover and analyze knowledge gaps in the gut microbiota research field in the continent. We will include studies involving African countries regardless of race, gender, age, health status, disease type, study design, or care setting. Two reviewers will conduct a literature search and screen the titles/abstracts against the eligibility criteria. The reviewers will subsequently screen full-text articles and identify studies that meet the inclusion criteria. This will be followed by charting the data using a charting tool and analysis of the evidence. As a result, this review may play a significant role in the identification of microbiota-related adjunctive therapies in the African region where multiple comorbidities coexist.