Nourishing the Microbiome: Exploring the influence of Food Inflammatory Index on Gut Bacteria in Type 2 Diabetics in Saudi Arabia

<ns3:p>Objective Diet is a key modulator of gut microbiota composition, and dietary inflammation may significantly influence metabolic disorders such as diabetes. In this study, we explored the relationship between the Food Inflammatory Index (FII) and gut microbiota composition in 234 type 2 diabetic patients from Saudi Arabia. Method A total of 234 Participants were divided into quartiles according to their FII scores, which increased progressively, effectively distinguishing varying levels of dietary inflammatory potential. Results Microbiome sequencing revealed that while overall alpha diversity remained stable, beta diversity analysis indicated subtle yet statistically significant differences in microbial community structure (PERMANOVA p = 0.001, R<ns3:sup>2</ns3:sup> = 2.14%). At the phylum level, the dominant taxa <ns3:italic>Firmicutes</ns3:italic> and <ns3:italic>Bacteroidota</ns3:italic>, exhibited significant shifts, with a non-linear ratio of <ns3:italic>Bacteroidota</ns3:italic> to <ns3:italic>Firmicutes</ns3:italic> observed across FII quartiles. Genus-level analysis revealed significant variations in Bacteroides, Alistipes, and Prevotella_9, with pairwise comparisons highlighting marked differences between the lowest and highest FII quartiles. Conclusions These compositional changes suggest that increased dietary inflammation is linked to a shift toward a dysbiotic gut microbiota, which may exacerbate metabolic dysregulation in diabetes. These findings pave the way for future studies to investigate whether targeted, FII-guided dietary interventions can modulate gut microbial communities and enhance metabolic health in diabetic populations.</ns3:p>