Role of Postbiotics in Diabetes Mellitus: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Abstract

In the last decade, the gastrointestinal microbiota has been recognised as being essential for health. Indeed, several publications have documented the suitability of probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics in the management of different diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM). Advances in laboratory techniques have allowed the identification and characterisation of new biologically active molecules, referred to as "postbiotics". Postbiotics are defined as functional bioactive compounds obtained from food-grade microorganisms that confer health benefits when administered in adequate amounts. They include cell structures, secreted molecules or metabolic by-products, and inanimate microorganisms. This heterogeneous group of molecules presents a broad range of mechanisms and may exhibit some advantages over traditional "biotics" such as probiotics and prebiotics. Owing to the growing incidence of DM worldwide and the implications of the microbiota in the disease progression, postbiotics appear to be good candidates as novel therapeutic targets. In the present review, we summarise the current knowledge about postbiotic compounds and their potential application in diabetes management. Additionally, we envision future perspectives on this topic. In summary, the results indicate that postbiotics hold promise as a potential novel therapeutic strategy for DM.

Keywords: bacteria-derived factors; bioactive compounds; diabetes mellitus; functional foods; gut microbiota; health benefits; lactic acid bacteria; paraprobiotics; postbiotics; probiotics.

Figure 1

Timeline illustrating the main historical milestones in microbiology, the biotics family and health.

Figure 2

General characteristics of postbiotics.

Figure 3

Potential mechanisms of action of postbiotics (illustrations from Smart^®).