Banc Roxana, Rusu Marius Emil, Filip Lorena, Popa Daniela-Saveta
Department of Bromatology, Hygiene, Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400349 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400010 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Foods. 2023 Jan 6;12(2):270. doi: 10.3390/foods12020270.
Ellagitannins (ETs) are a large group of bioactive compounds found in plant-source foods, such as pomegranates, berries, and nuts. The consumption of ETs has often been associated with positive effects on many pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative syndromes, and cancer. Although multiple biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive) have been discussed for ETs, their limited bioavailability prevents reaching significant concentrations in systemic circulation. Instead, urolithins, ET gut microbiota-derived metabolites, are better absorbed and could be the bioactive molecules responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities or anti-tumor cell progression. In this review, we examined the dietary sources, metabolism, and bioavailability of ETs, and analyzed the last recent findings on ETs, ellagic acid, and urolithins, their intestinal and brain activities, the potential mechanisms of action, and the connection between the ET microbiota metabolism and the consequences detected on the gut-brain axis. The current in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies indicate that ET-rich foods, individual gut microbiomes, or urolithin types could modulate signaling pathways and promote beneficial health effects. A better understanding of the role of these metabolites in disease pathogenesis may assist in the prevention or treatment of pathologies targeting the gut-brain axis.
鞣花单宁（ETs）是一类在植物源食物中发现的生物活性化合物，如石榴、浆果和坚果。食用ETs通常与对许多病症的积极影响有关，包括心血管疾病、神经退行性综合征和癌症。尽管已经讨论了ETs的多种生物活性（抗氧化、抗炎、化学预防），但其有限的生物利用度阻碍了其在体循环中达到显著浓度。相反，尿石素是ETs经肠道微生物群衍生的代谢产物，吸收性更好，可能是负责抗氧化和抗炎活性或抗肿瘤细胞进展的生物活性分子。在本综述中，我们研究了ETs的膳食来源、代谢和生物利用度，并分析了关于ETs、鞣花酸和尿石素的最新研究结果、它们在肠道和大脑中的活性、潜在作用机制以及ETs微生物群代谢与在肠-脑轴上检测到的后果之间的联系。目前的体外、体内和临床研究表明，富含ETs的食物、个体肠道微生物群或尿石素类型可以调节信号通路并促进有益的健康影响。更好地理解这些代谢产物在疾病发病机制中的作用可能有助于预防或治疗针对肠-脑轴的病症。
