Beneficial Effects of Organosulfur Compounds from Allium cepa on Gut Health: A Systematic Review

Juristo Fonollá,Enrique Guillamón,Alberto Baños,Pedro Andreo-Martínez,Nuria Mut-Salud

doi:10.3390/foods10081680

Juristo Fonollá, Enrique Guillamón + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081680

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Journal: Foods	Publication Date: Jul 21, 2021
Citations: 27	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Granada, University of Murcia

Abstract

Dietary changes affect the composition and structure of gut microbiota (GM) in animals and humans. One of the beneficial effects of consuming products derived from plants is the positive influence on immunity and gastrointestinal health. Species belonging to the genus Allium contain many organosulfur compounds (OSCs) that have been widely studied showing their biological properties and beneficial effects on intestinal health and GM. This is the first systematic review of OSCs from Allium performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and it is based on the evidence that we found in literature about the benefits on the GM and intestinal health demonstrated by OSCs from Allium, and specifically from onion. OSCs from Allium cepa have shown a significant antibacterial activity against a broad spectrum of antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the intake of OSCs from onion was able to modulate the composition of GM, increasing the beneficial bacterial populations in animal models. Moreover, the beneficial effects observed in murine models of colitis suggest that these compounds could be suitable candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or reverse the dysbiosis caused by a high-fat diet (HFD). Despite the evidence found both in vitro and in vivo, we have not found any article that tested OSCs different from allicin in clinical trials or dietary intervention studies in humans. In this sense, it would be interesting to conduct new research that tests the benefits of these compounds in human GM.

Highlights

From the moment of their birth, humans are already colonised by microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract (GT), oral cavity, vagina or skin
This table collects an overview of these articles, which includes the type of Allium product used (OSCs or raw extract), the doses applied, evaluation (imnovditerlor, tihnevlievno)g,tthhoefltehnegsthtuodfytahnedsttuhdeymaanindfithnedimngasinrefliantdedintgostrheeliartebdenteofitchiaeilr ebffeencetsficiniagl ueftfhecetasltihnt.h (Table 1)
Taking into account all of the aforementioned, 17 original articles were included in this systematic review to describe the current scientific evidence of the modulating effect on Gut microbiota (GM) exerted by Allium products and, in particular, by organosulfur compounds (OSCs) from Allium cepa

Summary

Introduction

From the moment of their birth, humans are already colonised by microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract (GT), oral cavity, vagina or skin. Gut microbiota (GM) includes the set of bacteria that colonise the GT and maintains the integrity of epithelium, establishing a physical barrier against pathogens. To ease digestion and absorption of nutrients, the GM helps metabolism by synthesis of essential nutrients [1] and stimulates the production of antimicrobial compounds in the host. Plenty of assays have demonstrated that enteric bacteria play a fundamental role in aspects of human health such as the promotion of adaptive immunity, cognition pathologies, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), metabolic syndrome or colorectal cancer [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. The gut microbiome is currently considered as an independent organ that shows both physiological and pathological effects [11,12]

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