Selective bio‐availability of phenolic acids from Scottish strawberries

Abstract

Scottish strawberries were found to be a rich source of phenolic acids, namely benzoic (1287.95 +/- 279.98 mg/kg) and cinnamic (1159.40 +/- 233.96 mg/kg) acids, both free and attached to other plant components. Studies suggest a chemopreventive role for such compounds in several major clinical conditions, but the anticipated benefits are likely to be affected by their bio-availability and metabolic fate. In this pilot study, strawberries (750 g) was consumed by four healthy human volunteers (32 +/- 6 years). Only the benzoic acids were detected in the plasma. Of these, the major free (gentisic, protocatechuic and p-hydroxybenzoic acid) and conjugated (syringic acid) benzoic acids were 26-27% recovered in the urine within 5 h. Cinnamic acids were completely undetected in plasma and only trace amounts were found in the urine. Since, the cinnamic acids escaped absorption early in the gastrointestinal tract, their release and/or metabolism is dependent on the host colonic microbiota. Results indicate that there is a high degree of selective absorption of strawberry phenolic acids into the systemic circulation. If selective absorption of phenolic acids is observed with consumption of other plant-based foods, this is likely to have implications for the bioactive role of these compounds in chronic disease prevention.

Molecular structure‐affinity relationship of natural polyphenols for bovine γ‐globulin

“…The magnitudes of apparent binding constants for g-globulin were almost in the range of 10 3 -10 5 L/mol, which were similar to recent report for g-globulin by He et al [12]. However, these data were much smaller than the affinities of polyphenols for BSA and HSA from our previous reports (10 4 -10 8 /M) [14][15][16][17].…”

High levels of Bifidobacteria are associated with increased levels of anthocyanin microbial metabolites: a randomized clinical trial

“…11 Moreover, some studies have shown that the concentration of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid increased in plasma and urine aer strawberry consumption by healthy volunteers 32 and in the urine of rats fed with wine powder. 33 Syringic acid may come from malvidin degradation described from Lactobacillus and Bidobacterium.…”

The gut microbial metabolome: modulation of cancer risk in obese individuals

“…Of the secondary metabolites, the group most widely studied are products of the phenylpropanoid pathway, as nearly all plant foods considered to have cancerpreventative properties are rich in these compounds (73) including cinnamic, phenylacetic, phenylpropionic, coumarins, flavonoids and anthocyanidins (72) . Although these phenylpropanoid derivatives are most widely studied, many other secondary metabolites and their derivatives are present in the human colon.…”