The antidiabetic potential of Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain SB1075 fermented soy yoghurt: Insights from mouse intestinal transcriptomics and metabolite analyses.

Fermented foods are recognised as functional due to their health-promoting bioactive metabolites. Our previous study showed enhanced shelf-life with stable functional metabolites of soy yoghurt fermented with Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain SB1075. Building on these findings, we prepared a new batch of SB1075-fermented soy yoghurt for animal experiments and evaluated its antidiabetic potential using transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches. GC-MS profiling confirmed reproducible metabolite patterns in fermented soy yoghurt, with the putative presence of bioactive compounds including D-pinitol and myo-inositol. Soy yoghurt was administered orally (as lyophilised powder) at the doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Swiss albino mice for 5 weeks, with unfermented soymilk as a control. The 100 mg/kg dose produced the most pronounced metabolic improvement, markedly reduced fasting blood glucose (90.75 ± 8.72 vs 421.5 ± 28.94 mg/dL in diabetic controls, p ≤ 0.001), improving glucose tolerance, and restoring lipid and liver biochemical parameters. Transcriptomic analysis of the intestinal tissue revealed upregulation of genes associated with insulin signalling and glucose metabolism genes (Insr, Irs1, Gck, & Pklr) alongside downregulation of inflammatory mediators (Il6 and Tnf). Metabolomic profiling further indicated differential abundance of several putatively annotated metabolites linked to metabolic regulation and oxidative stress responses. Collectively, these findings suggest that fermentation of SB1075-fermented soy yoghurt enhances the functional metabolite profile and may contribute to improved glycaemic regulation in diabetic mice. However, further studies involving targeted validation and clinical investigations will be required to confirm these mechanistic insights and evaluate the translational potential of SB1075-fermented soy yoghurt as a functional dietary intervention for metabolic health.