Probiotics for type 2 diabetes mellitus: an anti-diabetic intervention to see beyond the gut

The increasing cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have made it a very concerning metabolic disease worldwide. The increasing understanding of the role of gut microbiota in metabolism process has lead to a promising intervention of T2DM that can relieve not only the symptoms but also help improve the disrupted metabolic mechanisms. Probiotics are now widely studied for its potential in the management of T2DM. From 50 journals reviewed, 43 were found suitable as references for this paper. The keywords used are “probiotics,” “gut microbiota,” “obesity” and “type 2 diabetes mellitus” on selected search engines. In general, it has shown that probiotics do have systemic therapeutic effects as it can increase the secretion of gut hormones, maintain gut barrier function and improve inflammatory response, thereby providing a hopeful future for a comprehensive management of metabolic disorders, especially T2DM.