Abstract
The genome of gut microbes encodes a collection of enzymes whose metabolic functions contribute to the bioavailability and bioactivity of unabsorbed (poly)phenols. Datasets from high throughput sequencing, metabolome measurements, and other omics have expanded the understanding of the different modes of actions by which (poly)phenols modulate the microbiome conferring health benefits to the host. Progress have been made to identify direct prebiotic effects of (poly)phenols; albeit up to date, these compounds are not recognized as prebiotics sensu stricto. Interestingly, certain probiotics strains have an enzymatic repertoire, such as tannase, α-L-rhamnosidase, and phenolic acid reductase, involved in the transformation of different (poly)phenols into bioactive phenolic metabolites. In vivo studies have demonstrated that these (poly)phenol-transforming bacteria thrive when provided with phenolic substrates. However, other taxonomically distinct gut symbionts of which a phenolic-metabolizing activity has not been demonstrated are still significantly promoted by (poly)phenols. This is the case of Akkermansia muciniphila, a so-called antiobesity bacterium, which responds positively to (poly)phenols and may be partially responsible for the health benefits formerly attributed to these molecules. We surmise that (poly)phenols broad antimicrobial action free ecological niches occupied by competing bacteria, thereby allowing the bloom of beneficial gut bacteria. This review explores the capacity of (poly)phenols to promote beneficial gut bacteria through their direct and collaborative bacterial utilization and their inhibitory action on potential pathogenic species. We propose the term duplibiotic, to describe an unabsorbed substrate modulating the gut microbiota by both antimicrobial and prebiotic modes of action. (Poly)phenol duplibiotic effect could participate in blunting metabolic disturbance and gut dysbiosis, positioning these compounds as dietary strategies with therapeutic potential.
Highlights
The gut microbiota plays a crucial role on host physiology
The prebiotic concept was confined to selected non-digestible carbohydrates; phytochemicals, such asphenols, exert potentially prebiotic effects by selectively stimulating beneficial bacteria and reducing the incidence of diseases [12]. (Poly)phenols are a diverse class of secondary plant metabolites found in most diets
To account for the two mainphenols modes of action, we suggest the use of the term “duplibiotics” which broadens the scope of prebiotic activity to include and define a substrate able to modulate the gut microbiota’s composition through a dual antimicrobial effect and beneficial bacteria stimulatory effect
Summary
The gut microbiota plays a crucial role on host physiology. It is well-known that an intimate symbiotic relationship exists between the gut microbiome and the host, and that this association is complex and multi-dimensional, as it affects the gut-lung, gut-brain, gut-skin, gut-muscle, and gut-adipose tissue axes, among others [1,2,3,4]. (Poly)phenol’s Prebiotic Action (Poly)phenol-rich extracts exert a stimulatory effect on bacteria with crucial biological roles, such as probiotic species belonging to Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria genera [32, 122, 123] This stimulation stems from either a (poly)phenol-induced shift in the microbial ecological niches, the reestablishment of the mucosal pro- and anti-inflammatory balance, the inhibition of potentially pathogenic bacteria, or from the direct utilization of (poly)phenols by gut bacteria. Intestinal (poly)phenoldegrading bacteria such as Eggerthella spp. and certain strains of Adlercreutzia equolifaciens [141, 191, 192] produce equol from daidzein aglycone This enzymatic machinery is present in probiotic species such as B. breve, B. longum, Lactococcus garvieae, and Lactobacillus intestinalis [189]. As stated by the definition of prebiotics, further well-designed and realistic human clinical studies are essential to demonstrate the health benefits induced by the microbial utilization of (poly)phenols
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