Berry polyphenols metabolism and impact on human gut microbiota and health

Abstract

Berries are rich in phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids, flavonols and anthocyanins.

First-Pass Metabolism of Polyphenols from Selected Berries: A High-Throughput Bioanalytical Approach

“…Besides this, biosynthesis of anthocyanins in berry fruits is tightly controlled during the transcription of several genes involved in the flavan-3-ol proanthocyanidin pathway, in a fruit-specific manner [18,20]. Taking this into consideration, blackberry and raspberry are more valuable than Red Globe grape from a nutraceutical standpoint [1], even if their parent polyphenols are biotransformed into other ones [20,21]; the specific phenolic fingerprint of these two berries may be related to different yet complementary effects on preventing several non-communicable chronic diseases including certain types of cancers, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, inflammation and oxidative stress [2].…”

“…Epidemiological studies and controlled clinical trials indicate that their acute-chronic consumption exerts synergistic and independent effects on lowering several pathophysiological markers including hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, pro-inflammatory cytokines, hypertensive factors and oxidative stressors [1]. In fact, there is also an inverse association between berry consumption and many risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes [2]; most, if not all, of these health benefits, are related to the amount and phytochemical diversity present in each berry, from which those with antioxidant activity (e.g., polyphenols) have been the most studied [3]. However, the heterogeneity in physiological response after their intake can hinder their beneficial effects in specific subpopulations [1,4].…”

“…The bioaccessibility of polyphenols is closely related to their physicochemical structure, the food matrix that contains them and the presence of anti-nutritional factors that could interfere with their release ability and intestinal absorption [5]. In this sense, the bioaccessibility of polyphenols from berry fruits is higher compared to other fruits, due to a concomitant effect between their natural higher level [6] and their low content of non-digestible carbohydrates and protein, both associated with an efficient gastrointestinal (GI) delivery that enhances their bioavailability [2,7].…”

“…On the other hand, the absorption, pharmacokinetics and systemic metabolism of polyphenols and their and biotransformation by the GI microbiota, have been extensively studied in the last decade [2,5]; however, the first-pass metabolism (a.k.a. pre-systemic metabolism) of bioaccessible polyphenols also modifies their ultimate health effects [1].…”

“…The evaluation of bioaccessible and bioavailable fractions of polyphenols has been proposed recently as a "quality" parameter in berry breeding programs. However, studies reporting the extent to which bioaccessible polyphenols are bio-transformed during their first-pass metabolism and colonic fermentation are still very scarce [2,9]. In this study, we used a high-throughput ex vivo bioanalytical system [everted gut sac (rat) + three detection methods: spectrophotometry, HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV)] to evaluate the apparent permeability (P app ) and enteral biotransformation of polyphenols from three berry fruits with graded levels of polyphenols (blackberry > raspberry > Red Globe grape); to the best of our knowledge, this ex vivo bioanalytical approach is reported for the first time.…”