Assessment of Immobilized Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus OLXAL-1 Cells on Oat Flakes for Functional Regulation of the Intestinal Microbiome in a Type-1 Diabetic Animal Model

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of free or immobilized <i>Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus</i> OLXAL-1 cells on oat flakes on the gut microbiota and metabolic and inflammatory markers in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Type-1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) animal model. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were assigned into eight groups (n = 6): healthy or diabetic animals that received either a control diet (CD and DCD), an oat-supplemented diet (OD and DOD), a diet supplemented with free <i>L. rhamnosus</i> OLXAL-1 cells (CFC and DFC), or a diet supplemented with immobilized <i>L. rhamnosus</i> OLXAL-1 cells on oat flakes (CIC and DIC). Neither <i>L. rhamnosus</i> OLXAL-1 nor oat supplementation led to any significant positive effects on body weight, insulin levels, plasma glucose concentrations, or lipid profile parameters. <i>L. rhamnosus</i> OLXAL-1 administration resulted in a rise in the relative abundances of <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i>, as well as increased levels of lactic, acetic, and butyric acids in the feces of the diabetic animals. Additionally, supplementation with oat flakes significantly reduced the microbial populations of <i>E. coli</i>, <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, coliforms, staphylococci, and enterococci and lowered IL-1β levels in the blood plasma of diabetic animals. These findings suggested that probiotic food-based strategies could have a potential therapeutic role in managing dysbiosis and inflammation associated with T1DM.