Probiotics-based interventions for diabetes mellitus: A review

Abstract The gut microbiota plays a vital role in human health. Many studies have shown that an imbalance of in the intestinal flora not only can cause intestinal diseases; but also is closely related to obesity, diabetes and other chronic metabolic diseases. Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, that can colonize the human intestinal tract to improve the microbiological balance and migigate diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Therefore, approaches that aim to target the intestinal flora and thus alleviate diabetes have unique advantages, although the underlying mechanisms are complex and diverse. From this perspective, this review summarize here the relationship between the intestinal flora, probiotics and diabetes. Particularly, it focuses on the mechanism by which probiotics relieve diabetes by targeting the intestinal microbiota from the aspects of oxidative stress, immune responses, amino acid metabolism, intestinal permeability and short-chain fatty acids.