Microbiome Influence on Endocrine Function: A Novel Approach to Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Abstract

Increasing incidence of T2D has led to the focus of the scientific community for developing alternative therapeutic approaches to meet challenges of present-day drug therapies. This paper aims at exploring the effect of the microbiome on endocrine activity primarily considering the effect of the composition of gut microbiota to glucose and insulin. In reviewing the current literature, we identify ways though which the microbiome influences hormones including insulin, GLP-1, as well as adiponectin. Further, we briefly discuss promising pharmacologic strategies for modulating the gut microbiota of T2D patients including prebiotics, probiotics, and dietary interventions for glycaemic regulation.