Polyphenols have attracted tremendous attention due to their pro-health properties, including their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and neuroprotective activities. Atherosclerosis is a vascular disorder underlying several CVDs. One of the main risk factors causing atherosclerosis is the type and quality of food consumed. Therefore, polyphenols represent promising agents in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, as demonstrated by in vitro, animal, preclinical and clinical studies. However, most polyphenols cannot be absorbed directly by the small intestine. Gut microbiota play a crucial role in converting dietary polyphenols into absorbable bioactive substances. An increasing understanding of the field has confirmed that specific GM taxa strains mediate the gut microbiota–atherosclerosis axis. The present study explores the anti-atherosclerotic properties and associated underlying mechanisms of polyphenols. Moreover, it provides a basis for better understanding the relationship between dietary polyphenols, gut microbiota, and cardiovascular benefits.

The phenol content of sorghum is a unique feature among all cereal grains; hence this fact merits the special attention of scientists. It should be remembered that before polyphenols can be used in the body, they are modified within the digestive tract. In order to obtain more accurate data on the level and activity of tested ingredients after ingestion and digestion in the in vivo digestive tract, in vitro simulated digestion may be used. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the content of polyphenols, flavonoids, and individual phenolic acids, as well as the antiradical properties, of sorghum and sorghum-enriched pasta before and after in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion. We observed that the total content of polyphenols decreased after gastric digestion of sorghum, and slightly increased after duodenal digestion. Moreover, the flavonoid content decreased after the first stage of digestion, while antioxidant properties increased after the first stage of digestion and slightly decreased after the second stage. The digestion of polyphenolics in sorghum is completely different to that in pasta—both in varieties with, and without, the addition of sorghum. For pasta, the content of total polyphenols and flavonoids, and free radical scavenging properties, decrease after each stage of digestion.