Dietary Modulation of Bacteriophages as an Additional Player in Inflammation and Cancer

Abstract

Natural compounds such as essential oils and tea have been used successfully in naturopathy and folk medicine for hundreds of years. Current research is unveiling the molecular role of their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. Nevertheless, the effect of these compounds on bacteriophages is still poorly understood. The application of bacteriophages against bacteria has gained a particular interest in recent years due to, e.g., the constant rise of antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics, or an increasing awareness of different types of microbiota and their potential contribution to gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory and malignant conditions. Thus, a better knowledge of how dietary products can affect bacteriophages and, in turn, the whole gut microbiome can help maintain healthy homeostasis, reducing the risk of developing diseases such as diverse types of gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or even cancer. The present review summarizes the effect of dietary compounds on the physiology of bacteriophages. In a majority of works, the substance class of polyphenols showed a particular activity against bacteriophages, and the primary mechanism of action involved structural damage of the capsid, inhibiting bacteriophage activity and infectivity. Some further dietary compounds such as caffeine, salt or oregano have been shown to induce or suppress prophages, whereas others, such as the natural sweeter stevia, promoted species-specific phage responses. A better understanding of how dietary compounds could selectively, and specifically, modulate the activity of individual phages opens the possibility to reorganize the microbial network as an additional strategy to support in the combat, or in prevention, of gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammation and cancer.

Infectivity responses of Salmonella enterica to bacteriophages on maize seeds and maize sprouts

“…Spot-inoculation of Salmonella was subsequently followed by the application of SalmoFresh after 3 h and the phage cocktail was able to decrease Salmonella populations on lettuce and mung bean sprouts ( Zhang et al, 2019 ). Moreover, green tea extract is a common neutralizer used for phage neutralization, mostly due to its high catechin content ( Dhowlaghar and Denes, 2023 ; Marongiu et al, 2021 ). Nevertheless, sprouts are rich in catechin, too so they serve as a natural neutralizer for phages ( Francis et al, 2022 ).…”

Bacteriophage-mediated manipulations of microbiota in gastrointestinal diseases

“…It was shown that orally delivered phages were safer and more effective than intraperitoneally administered phages in inhibiting tumorigenesis in pre-clinical models ( Dabrowska et al, 2005 ). Furthermore, the intake of dietary compounds such as polyphenols, teas, and sweeteners can have the potential to impact the physiology of phages by either inhibiting phage activity or promoting phage responses ( Marongiu et al, 2021 ). Thus, diet is an essential element in the involvement of phages in the combat against GI diseases and cancer progression ( Marongiu et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Furthermore, the intake of dietary compounds such as polyphenols, teas, and sweeteners can have the potential to impact the physiology of phages by either inhibiting phage activity or promoting phage responses ( Marongiu et al, 2021 ). Thus, diet is an essential element in the involvement of phages in the combat against GI diseases and cancer progression ( Marongiu et al, 2021 ).…”

Roles of Gut Bacteriophages in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“…As described above, the gut phage community maintains dynamic equilibrium under normal physiological conditions, whereas this balance can be disturbed by various factors, such as diet, lifestyle modification or pathological status ( Minot et al., 2011 ; Coughlan et al., 2021 ; Marongiu et al., 2021 ). Advancing evidence has demonstrated that dysbiosis of gut phages may stimulate the development or aggravate the course of diseases, such as periodontal disease, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer or gastrointestinal disease ( Azeredo et al., 2016 ; Manrique et al., 2017 ; Ma et al., 2018 ; Tetz et al., 2018 ; Santiago-Rodriguez and Hollister, 2019 ; Maronek et al., 2020 ).…”