Abstract
Industrial chicory has been the subject of numerous studies, most of which provide clinical observations on its health effects. Whether it is the roasted root, the flour obtained from the roots or the different classes of molecules that enter into the composition of this plant, understanding the molecular mechanisms of action on the human organism remains incomplete. In this study, we were interested in three molecules or classes of molecules present in chicory root: fructose, chlorogenic acids, and sesquiterpene lactones. We conducted experiments on the murine model and performed a nutrigenomic analysis, a metabolic hormone assay and a gut microbiota analysis, associated with in vitro observations for different responses. We have highlighted a large number of effects of all these classes of molecules that suggest a pro-apoptotic activity, an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effect and also an important role in appetite regulation. A significant prebiotic activity was also identified. Fructose seems to be the most involved in these activities, contributing to approximately 83% of recorded responses, but the other classes of tested molecules have shown a specific role for these different effects, with an estimated contribution of 23–24%.
Highlights
Industrial chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) has been analyzed for its various dietary and medicinal effects
Metabolomic fingerprinting revealed that the extraction of the metabolites during the preparation of the decoction from the chicory flour was slightly less effective
The anti-xenobiotic and putative antioxidant effects were indicated by six Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and we found three genes involved in energy metabolism and calcium transport that were deregulated, but their putative health effect could be less discernible
Summary
Industrial chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) has been analyzed for its various dietary and medicinal effects. The chicory root, processed into flour and used as an ingredient for pastries, has been proposed as a functional food; potential mechanisms by which the chicory acts on cancer prevention, antibacterial and antiviral defense, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects have been identified [2]. Among the major compounds of chicory root, inulin has been the subject of multiple studies concerning its prebiotic effect [2,3], but less is known about the specific mechanisms of other molecules that enter the composition of roots. The hydrolysis products of inulin, fructose and oligofructose, have been described to have multiple beneficial effects on bowel functions [4]. Chlorogenic acids (CGA) have been described to improve the insulin sensitivity in diabetic rats [5] and were associated with major in vivo antioxidant properties [6] and an in vitro antibacterial activity [7]
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