Gut microbiota (GM) plays several crucial roles in host physiology and influences several relevant functions. In more than one respect, it can be said that you “feed your microbiota and are fed by it.” GM diversity is affected by diet and influences metabolic and immune functions of the host's physiology. Consequently, an imbalance of GM, or dysbiosis, may be the cause or at least may lead to the progression of various pathologies such as infectious diseases, gastrointestinal cancers, inflammatory bowel disease, and even obesity and diabetes. Therefore, GM is an appropriate target for nutritional interventions to improve health. For this reason, phytochemicals that can influence GM have recently been studied as adjuvants for the treatment of obesity and inflammatory diseases. Phytochemicals include prebiotics and probiotics, as well as several chemical compounds such as polyphenols and derivatives, carotenoids, and thiosulfates. The largest group of these comprises polyphenols, which can be subclassified into four main groups: flavonoids (including eight subgroups), phenolic acids (such as curcumin), stilbenoids (such as resveratrol), and lignans. Consequently, in this review, we will present, organize, and discuss the most recent evidence indicating a relationship between the effects of different phytochemicals on GM that affect obesity and/or inflammation, focusing on the effect of approximately 40 different phytochemical compounds that have been chemically identified and that constitute some natural reservoir, such as potential prophylactics, as candidates for the treatment of obesity and inflammatory diseases.
Obesity generates a chronic low-grade inflammatory state which promotes oxidative stress and triggers comorbidities. Alliin is the main organosulfur compound in garlic and has been shown to induce a decrease in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines; its systemic effect on metabolic parameters and adipose tissue is not yet known, however. After nine weeks of HFD and with obesity established in C57BL/6 mice, we observed that a daily treatment with alliin for 3.5 weeks (15 mg/kg) did not affect body weight, but significantly improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, both evaluated through a blood glucose monitoring system. Once alliin treatment was completed, serum, adipose tissue, and organs of interest related to metabolism were removed for further analysis. We observed that alliin significantly decreased the size of adipocytes from epididymal adipose tissue, evaluated via microscopy. A decrease in gene expression and serum protein levels of the adipocytokines leptin and resistin, as well as decreased serum IL-6 concentration, were detected by qRT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. It did not, however, affect mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes in the liver. Taken altogether, these results indicate that treatment with alliin reduces metaflammation markers in DIO mice and improves some metabolic parameters without affecting others.
Background: Garlic has been considered to have medicinal properties in different cultures since ancient times. Vegetables of the allium genus are a natural source of sulfur-containing organic compounds. These compounds have recently been investigated for their positive health effects, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, as well as cardioprotective and anticarcinogenic properties. Objective: In this review we focus on one of the main components of garlic; alliin or S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide, which is a non-protein amino acid that exhibits a broad spectrum of beneficial effects on physiology, both at the cellular and whole organism levels. Methods: Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of the MEDLINE (PubMed) database. Search terms used for alliin were: “S-allylcysteine sulfoxide” OR “L-alliin” OR “ACSO”, all of them combined into a separated search term individually as follows: AND “antioxidant”; AND “cardioprotective”; AND “anti-inflammatory”; AND “antimicrobial”; AND “disease”, and; AND “neuroprotective”. Results: Here, we review and integrate the existing experimental evidence on the effects of alliin, mainly on its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as its cardioprotective action, and its role as an adjuvant for the treatment of different diseases, such as: infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, metabolic diseases and cancer. Conclusion: Finally, we propose alliin as a possible neuroprotective agent, through the combination of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and its ability to reduce markers of metabolic inflammation in obesity.
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