Plant Polyphenols-Biofortified Foods as a Novel Tool for the Prevention of Human Gut Diseases

Abstract

Plant food biofortification is recently receiving remarkable attention, as it aims to increase the intake of minerals, vitamins, or antioxidants, crucial for their contribution to the general human health status and disease prevention. In this context, the study of the plant’s secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols, plays a pivotal role for the development of a new generation of plant crops, compensating, at least in part, the low nutritional quality of Western diets with a higher quality of dietary sources. Due to the prevalent immunomodulatory activity at the intestinal level, polyphenols represent a nutritionally relevant class of plant secondary metabolites. In this review, we focus on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of different classes of polyphenols with a specific attention to their potential in the prevention of intestinal pathological processes. We also discuss the latest biotechnology strategies and new advances of genomic techniques as a helpful tool for polyphenols biofortification and the development of novel, healthy dietary alternatives that can contribute to the prevention of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Pork Liver Pâté Enriched with Persimmon Coproducts: Effect of In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion on Its Fatty Acid and Polyphenol Profile Stability

“…Recently, many investigations have pointed out that polyphenols, especially in their insoluble-bound form, which remains covalent joining the cell wall, could modulate the intestinal microbiome’s composition [ 14 , 15 ]. Furthermore, some authors pointed out the potential of polyphenol-biofortified food as a novel tool for preventing human gut diseases [ 16 ]. Many authors have shown that polyphenol mitigates the early stage of colon inflammation [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Status and Challenges of Plant-Anticancer Compounds in Cancer Treatment

“…Some of the most promising compounds that may be in the development of new drugs are phenolic compounds. These compounds are secondary metabolites from plants (an also some algae), which could be divided into phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, stilbenes and other compounds [ 103 ]. Nowadays, these compounds have attracted the attention of scientific community due to their large range of biological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and also anticancer [ 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 ].…”

Chondroprotection and Molecular Mechanism of Action of Phytonutraceuticals on Osteoarthritis

“…In folk medicine, pomegranate has long been used to treat inflammatory processes in OA [ 69 , 70 ]. The high content of polyphenols and tannins endows pomegranate with significant antioxidant activity [ 65 , 71 ].…”

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