Gut-Targeted Biotherapies in Digestive and Metabolic Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

The gut microbiota serves as a central hub linking digestive health to systemic metabolism. This Special Issue explores how microbiota-modulating interventions—probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, paraprobiotics, and synbiotics address the interconnected pathophysiology of digestive and metabolic disorders.

Probiotics and prebiotics reshape microbial composition and enhance short-chain fatty acid production, whilst postbiotics deliver bioactive metabolites without live organisms. Paraprobiotics provide stable, immunomodulatory alternatives, and synbiotics capitalise on synergistic interactions to optimise outcomes across disease domains.

These interventions strengthen intestinal barrier integrity, reduce systemic inflammation, modulate metabolic endotoxaemia, and promote metabolic homeostasis. This collection will synthesise evidence across digestive conditions (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, functional disorders), and metabolic diseases (e.g. obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)).

Emerging research reveals remarkable overlap: barrier dysfunction and dysbiosis underpin both intestinal inflammation and insulin resistance, whilst dysbiotic metabolites drive cardiometabolic risk. This Special Issue will integrate contemporary knowledge on microbiota-targeted therapeutics, explore cross-disease mechanisms, and identify precision approaches for managing the digestive-metabolic continuum.

Dr. Leni Rose Rivera
Guest Editor

Name: Ms. Kumkum Ravish
Email: s223207586@deakin.edu.au
Personal Homepage: https://experts.deakin.edu.au/62540-kumkum-ravish
Guest Editor Assistant

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