According to a new research from Finland suggests that higher blood levels of indolepropionic acid – a product of gut bacteria that is increased by a fiber-rich diet – may help to protect against type2 diabetes.
If uncontrolled, high blood sugar can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and amputation of lower limbs.
Levels of blood sugar are regulated by the hormone insulin, which is made in the pancreas.
The type of diabetes that develops depends on whether the high blood glucose results from lack of insulin (type1 diabetes) or the body’s inability to use insulin (type2 diabetes).
Type2 diabetes is by far the most common form of diabetes around the world and largely develops from being overweight and not exercising.
However, what is less clear is what happens at the molecular level to link these factors to the disease.
The new study uses metabolomics, a relatively new technology that allows scientists to quickly assess the metabolite profiles of people.
Metabolites are molecules that cells in the body – including gut bacteria – produce as byproducts of their activity.
When the researchers compared the metabolite profiles of the two groups, they found that what stood out was differences in levels of indolepropionic acid and certain lipid metabolites.
Further analysis suggested that having high blood levels of indolepropionic acid, a byproduct of gut bacteria, appeared to protect against developing type2 diabetes.
Also, a diet rich in fibre and whole grain foods appears to increase levels of indolepropionic acid, which in turn raises the amount of insulin produced by the beta cells in the pancreas, note the authors.
The team confirmed the findings by looking at the link between indolepropionic acid and risk for type 2 diabetes in the data from two other studies: the Finnish Metabolic Syndrome In Men Study, and the Swedish Västerbotten Intervention Project. These also showed that indolepropionic acid appears to protect against type2 diabetes.
The researchers suggest that their study shows that it may be more feasible to use metabolite profiles rather than identifying the bacteria themselves (which is a more complex process) to look at links with diseases such as diabetes.
Corresponding author Dr Kati Hanhineva said that “Earlier studies, too, have linked intestinal bacteria with the risk of disease in overweight people. Our findings suggest that indolepropionic acid may be one factor that mediates the protective effect of diet and intestinal bacteria.”
