Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide concern and obviously influences the quality of life of humans. Dietary polysaccharides were mainly from natural sources, namely, plants, fungi, algae, etc. They were resistant to human digestion and absorption, with complete or partial fermentation in the large bowel, and have shown antidiabetic ability. In this perspective, a literature search was conducted to provide information on the antidiabetic mechanism of dietary polysaccharides based on the whole gastrointestinal process, which was a new angle of view for understanding their antidiabetic mechanism. Further studies could take efforts on the mechanisms of the polysaccharide action through host-microbiota interactions targeting diabetes.
Keywords: antidiabetic mechanism; diabetes; dietary polysaccharides; gastrointestine.