Singaraja- Diabetes is a highly prevalent metabolic disease worldwide. Diabetes characterized by relative insulin deficiency caused by pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance in target organs is type 2 diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus). Diabetes will highly produce complications without proper therapy. Diabetes complications are divided into macrovascular: stroke, ischemic heart disease, and microvascular such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy.
Due to this problem, Undiksha’s PKM-RE team consisting of Julianus Bramega Yuwono (Medicine, Gede Tegar Dharma Putra (Medicine), Kadek Edy Sukarma (Medicine), Made Ayu Malina Dewi (Biology Education), Putu Ekayanti (Chemistry) saw a great opportunity for preventive therapy of diabetic nephropathy. Under Dr. Ni Nyoman Mestri Agustini, S.Ked., M.Kes., M.Biomed., Sp.N., innovative research was initiated to see the effect of probiotic administration on Bifidobacterium longum isolates with fermented young coconut water media as a preventive of diabetic nephropathy through improving colonic dysbiosis SCFAs. Targeting the gut microbiome dysbiosis directly, preventive therapy was launched to inhibit the complications of Diabetes, especially diabetic nephropathy. Young coconut water was chosen as the media in this study because it is widely found in the surrounding environment and contains simple forms of sugar, such as glucose and fructose, which are carbon sources for microorganisms.
The other contents, namely protein and fat, are essential for the nutrition of bacterial growth. Therefore, young coconut water is suitable as a fermentation medium for the probiotic isolate Bifidobacterium longum. Bifidobacterium longum can improve the gut microbiome by producing Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) and acetic acid as food for colonocytes, immune modulators, and stabilizing colonic pH. By stabilizing it, the colonic pH will decrease after an imbalance (increase in pH) from the dysbiosis of the gut microbiome.
This activity was carried out for four months, from June to September 2022, the design and implementation of research to the trial process on test animals. The results obtained from the trial show the effect of giving probiotic isolate Bifidobacterium longum with changes in the pH of the mice colon with an inverse ratio. So the higher the dose, the lower the colonic pH of the mice.
This innovation is expected to positively impact and affect the sustainability of further research, especially on the use of probiotics as an additional supplement for every community. (rls/hms)
