This
is the first study to report the distribution of urolithin
metabotypes (UMs) in Asian people, specifically in the Chinese. As
was reported for Europeans and Latin Americans, three UMs were observed,
UM-A (54.3%), UM-B (31.4%), and UM-0 (14.3%), in 35 healthy Chinese
youth. The richness and diversity of gut microbiota were lower in
UM-0 than in UM-A and UM-B at the genus level. Gordonibacter in UM-A and UM-B was significantly higher than that in UM-0. The Akkermansia was not found in UM-0. The correlation
analysis between the type and content of urolithins and the gut microbiota
at the genus level showed that 27 genera were significantly positively
correlated with urolithin A and 20 genera were significantly positively
associated with isourolithin A and urolithin B. In addition, different
KEGG pathways such as TCA cycle, energy metabolism, and some disease
were found between the gut microbiome of the three UMs. Further research
is needed to explore the mechanisms of metabotypes and the differential
health benefits or illness predisposition of the three UMs.
Ellagic acid (EA) exhibits potential antiaging activity.
Differences
in individual ability to produce urolithins may result in large interindividual
variability in the health effects of EA. Therefore, the effects and
mechanism of EA on d-galactose-induced aging, considering
urolithin A-producing ability, were investigated. Our results showed
that EA improved cognitive impairment and hippocampal damage, increased
the GABA (by 107.84–117.86%) and 5-HT (by 72.56–100.85%)
levels, and suppressed the inflammatory and oxidative stress in aging
rats. Thirteen plasma metabolites and 12 brain metabolites were improved
by EA administration in aging rats. In particular, EA showed a better
anti-aging effect in high-UroA-producing rats than in the low counterparts,
while antibiotic intervention almost offset EA-alleviated aging induced
by d-gal. Furthermore, the lower ratio of Firmicutes and
Bacteroidota as well as the greater abundances of Akkermansia (by 139.21%), Bifidobacterium (by 88.04%), Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 (by 183.47%), Lactobacillus (by 97.23%), and Turicibacter (by 83.06%) were
observed in the high-UroA-producing group compared with the model
group (p < 0.05). These findings provide novel
insights into the anti-aging effects of EA and suggest that the ability
of the gut microbiota responding to EA largely determines EA’s
anti-aging performance.
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