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A gluten‐free diet reduces the incidence of diabetes mellitus in non‐obese diabetic (NOD) mice, but the mechanism is not known. The aim of this study was to examine the possible influence of the diet on the caecal bacterial flora, which may affect the intestinal physiology and mediate disease prevention.

Two groups of NOD mice from the age of 3 weeks were fed either a gluten‐free diet or a standard diet. Each diabetic mouse, when diagnosed, along with a non‐diabetic mouse from the same diet group and two non‐diabetic mice from the alternate diet group were euthanized and sampled for classical bacteriological examination.

Nine out of 19 (47%) standard‐fed mice and 1 out of 19 (5%) gluten‐free‐fed mice developed diabetes (p < 0.01). Mice on the gluten‐free diet had significantly fewer aerobically (p < 0.01) and microaerophilically (p < 0.001) cultivated bacteria in their …