Relationships between Habitual Polyphenol Consumption and Gut Microbiota in the INCLD Health Cohort

Abstract

While polyphenol consumption is often associated with an increased abundance of beneficial microbes and decreased opportunistic pathogens, these relationships are not completely described for polyphenols consumed via habitual diet, including culinary herb and spice consumption. This analysis of the International Cohort on Lifestyle Determinants of Health (INCLD Health) cohort uses a dietary questionnaire and 16s microbiome data to examine relationships between habitual polyphenol consumption and gut microbiota in healthy adults (n = 96). In this exploratory analysis, microbial taxa, but not diversity measures, differed by levels of dietary polyphenol consumption. Taxa identified as exploratory biomarkers of daily polyphenol consumption (mg/day) included Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Enterococcus, Eubacterium ventriosum group, Ruminococcus torques group, and Sutterella. Taxa identified as exploratory biomarkers of the frequency of polyphenol-weighted herb and spice use included Lachnospiraceae UCG-001, Lachnospiraceae UCG-004, Methanobrevibacter, Lachnoclostridium, and Lachnotalea. Several of the differentiating taxa carry out activities important for human health, although out of these taxa, those with previously described pro-inflammatory qualities in certain contexts displayed inverse relationships with polyphenol consumption. Our results suggest that higher quantities of habitual polyphenol consumption may support an intestinal environment where opportunistic and pro-inflammatory bacteria are represented in a lower relative abundance compared to those with less potentially virulent qualities.

Effect of Sustainably Sourced Protein Consumption on Nutrient Intake and Gut Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

“…In addition, many of the studies reported only on one or two health outcomes and so data was lacking particularly for self-rated health, cholesterol, muscle mass and hand grip strength. However, we know that previous work has demonstrated that both animal and plant proteins can be incorporated into a healthy diet to reduce risk of age-related diseases [76,77] and habitual consumption of polyphenols from fruit, vegetables, nuts, herbs and spices may support an intestinal environment with lower relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria [78].…”

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Dietary Phenolic Compounds—Wellbeing and Perspective Applications

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