Role of Synbiotics (Prebiotics and Probiotics) as Dietary Supplements in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Induced Health Complications

Abstract

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder whose prevalence has become a worrying condition in recent decades. Chronic diabetes can result in serious health conditions such as impaired kidney function, stroke, blindness, and myocardial infarction. Despite a variety of currently available treatments, cases of diabetes and its complications are on the rise. This review article provides a comprehensive account of the ameliorative effect of prebiotics and probiotics individually or in combination i.e. synbiotics on health complications induced by Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Recent advances in the field underscore encouraging outcomes suggesting the consumption of synbiotics leads to favorable changes in the gut microbiota. These changes result in the production of bioactive metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (crucial for lowering blood sugar levels), reducing inflammation, preventing insulin resistance, and encouraging the release of glucagon-like peptide-1 in the host. Notably, novel strategies supplementing synbiotics to support gut microbiota are gaining attraction as pivotal interventions in mitigating T2DM-induced health complications. Thus, by nurturing a symbiotic relationship between prebiotics and probiotics i.e. synbiotics, these interventions hold promise in reshaping the microbial landscape of the gut thereby offering a multifaceted approach to managing T2DM and its associated morbidities. Supporting the potential of synbiotics underscores a paradigm shift toward holistic and targeted interventions in diabetes management, offering prospects for improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life for affected individuals. Nevertheless, more research needs to be done to better understand the single and multispecies pre/pro and synbiotics in the prevention and management of T2DM-induced health complications.

Keywords:

• Diabetes
• dietary
• dysbiosis
• nephropathy
• retinopathy
• synbiotics
• prebiotics
• probiotics

Acknowledgments

KB and NK thank Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi for financial support through Research Associate fellowship (No. 3/1/3(17)/Endo-fellowship/22-NCD-III) and Extramural research project (2021-14350), respectively. Authors also express thanks to Dr. Manisha Nahar for help in making figure using Smart Servier Medical Art.

Authors’ contributions

KB: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft, Formal analysis, AK: Writing - original draft, NK: Review & editing, Visualization, Supervision.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Table 1. Effects of the probiotics, prebiotics & synbiotics on the T2DM-induced health complications.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Kalpana Baghel

Kalpana Baghel is working as Indian Council of Medical - Postdoctoral Research Associate (ICMR-RA) in the Department of Zoology & Microbiology, School of Biological Sciences, Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, (MP) - 470003, India. Her research interest includes Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, Food nutrition, Diabetology, Endocrinology and Reproductive immunology.

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is 4th year Ph.D. student in the Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, (MP) - 470003, India. His research interests are Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, Food nutrition and Avian reproductive physiology.

Naveen Kango

Naveen Kango, Ph.D. Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, MP, India. His research interest includes Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, Food nutrition, Diabetology and Microbial Enzymes.