SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Gut Microbes and Their Metabolites in Metabolic Diseases: Mechanisms and Therapeutic TargetsView all 25 articles
Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Type 2 Diabetes: A Bibliometric Analysis of Knowledge Structure, Research Hotspots, and Future Directions
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Acupuncture and Tuina, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
- 2Changchun University of Chinese Medicine School of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Changchun, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a public health challenge that urgently needs to be addressed globally. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), as metabolic products of gut microbiota, have increasingly attracted attention for their role in the pathogenesis of T2DM. This study employs bibliometric and visual analysis methods, aiming to systematically depict the knowledge structure, research hotspots and future directions in this field. Method: We screened 965 publications on SCFAs and T2DM from the Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection databases. Visual analysis was conducted by using tools such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Result: Since 2016, publications in this field have increased rapidly. China leads in publication volume, while the United States plays a central role in collaboration and academic influence. Key contributors include Max Nieuwdorp and Fredrik Bäckhed. King's College London shows strong academic impact, and Nature is the most influential journal. Keyword analysis highlights the importance of "gut microbiota," "metabolomics," "microbial metabolism," "insulin resistance," and "dietary intervention." These topics suggest future research will focus on signaling pathways, personalized nutrition, and microbial interventions. Conclusions: The current research focuses on a deep exploration of the role and mechanism of SCFAs in T2DM, and it aims to transition from basic research to clinical research. In terms of application, clinical workers are shifting from macroscopic dietary intervention to more precise dietary formulation strategies. The development of technologies such as metabolomics is expected to provide more powerful support for basic research and promote further progress in this field.
Keywords: short-chain fatty acids, type 2 diabetes, Gut Microbiota, Metabolomics, Microbialmetabolism, dietary intervention, bibliometric analysis
Received: 05 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Jiang, Fang, Tan, Wang, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mingjun Liu, ccztlmj@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.