Evaluation of the Effect of Blackcurrant Products on Gut Microbiota and on Markers of Risk for Colon Cancer in Humans

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine in healthy humans whether First Leaf (FL; composed of blackcurrant extract powder, lactoferrin and lutein) and Cassis Anthomix 30 (CAM30; blackcurrant extract powder) can positively modify the colonic microbiota by enhancing the growth of the beneficial bacteria and inactivating the toxic bacterial enzymes which are known to be involved in colonic carcinogenesis. Thirty healthy adult male and female volunteers were recruited for this study. Fluorescent in situ hybridization was carried out to analyse the populations of fecal microbiota. Consumption of FL and CAM30 led to significant increases (P < 0.0001) in the population sizes of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria whereas the population sizes of Clostridium spp. and Bacteroides spp were decreased significantly (P < 0.0001). In addition, feeding of FL and CAM30 decreases the activity of β-glucuronidase (bacterial enzyme which is considered to be one of the enzymes that increases risk for colorectal cancer) and significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the fecal pH. In conclusion, the results of this study open up the possibility that consumption of FL and CAM30 can offer various benefits to human health through acting as novel prebiotic agents via increasing the numbers of beneficial bacteria (lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) in the gut.

Dietary Black Raspberries Impact the Colonic Microbiome and Phytochemical Metabolites in Mice

“…reviewed studies on the modulation of gut microbiota by dietary polyphenols according to experimental design . Food polyphenols or their extracts have been shown to increase Lactobacillus and Bifodobacteria in the majority of the animal and human intervention studies, yet some observed decreases or no change …”

Zinc Nutrition and Inflammation in the Aging Retina

“…If retinal parainflammation develops into a chronic retinal malfunction, and constitutes a shift in the normal homeostasis or “balance” to adapt to the new physiological or metabolic conditions of AMD (as occurs in many other chronic inflammatory disease states), the disruption in the interrelationships between nutrition, the microbiome, and host metabolism may be key elements in the disruption of normal homeostasis. The gut microbiome composition may vary according to macro/micronutrient dietary habits, as shown in several studies . The redox state also strongly modulates the gut microbiota .…”

Biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying the chemopreventive efficacy of rosmarinic acid in a rat colon cancer

“…ACF can be classified according to their morphological subtypes and are identified by the (i) number of crypts (ii) crypt size and (iii) crypt multiplicity. Molan et al (2014) reported that consumption of plant antioxidants promote the growth of beneficial bacteria and lower the numbers of other bacteria. β-glucosidase contributes to the hydrolysis of glucose monomers from nonstarch polysaccharides, however, it is also possible for β-glucosidase to be involved in the formation of toxic aglycons from plant glucosides (Pool-Zobel et al, 2002).…”