The Impact of Plant Phytochemicals on the Gut Microbiota of Humans for a Balanced Life

Abstract

The gastrointestinal tract of humans is a complex microbial ecosystem known as gut microbiota. The microbiota is involved in several critical physiological processes such as digestion, absorption, and related physiological functions and plays a crucial role in determining the host’s health. The habitual consumption of specific dietary components can impact beyond their nutritional benefits, altering gut microbiota diversity and function and could manipulate health. Phytochemicals are non-nutrient biologically active plant components that can modify the composition of gut microflora through selective stimulation of proliferation or inhibition of certain microbial communities in the intestine. Plants secrete these components, and they accumulate in the cell wall and cell sap compartments (body) for their development and survival. These compounds have low bioavailability and long time-retention in the intestine due to their poor absorption, resulting in beneficial impacts on gut microbiota population. Feeding diets containing phytochemicals to humans and animals may offer a path to improve the gut microbiome resulting in improved performance and/or health and wellbeing. This review discusses the effects of phytochemicals on the modulation of the gut microbiota environment and the resultant benefits to humans; however, the effect of phytochemicals on the gut microbiota of animals is also covered, in brief.

The Importance of Dietary Antioxidants on Oxidative Stress, Meat and Milk Production, and Their Preservative Aspects in Farm Animals: Antioxidant Action, Animal Health, and Product Quality—Invited Review

“…It is important to highlight that flavonoid compounds are poorly absorbed in the gut and their concentrations in target tissues are often too low to perform an effective antioxidant defense as reviewed by Surai [ 105 ]. For humans, consumption of various plant foods provides many phytochemicals that may significantly impact intestinal health, however, at present, no dietary recommendation for humans for phytochemicals or polyphenols exists [ 106 , 107 ].…”

Impact of Pesticide Residues on the Gut-Microbiota–Blood–Brain Barrier Axis: A Narrative Review

“…The GM is a major component of the digestive tract that stimulates the regeneration of intestinal epithelial cells and mucus production by goblet cells. It similarly has a role in nutrient assimilation and the fermentation of non-digestible substrates [ 29 ].…”

“…Daily exposure to contaminants, including pesticides, changes the structure and the balance of the GM (named gut dysbiosis or dysbacteriosis) in favor of potentially pathogenic bacteria [ 25 , 26 ]. Dysbiosis is defined as an imbalance in the GM and/or its functions due to the loss of beneficial microbes and the increase in pathogenic ones that might induce inflammation and immune dysregulation leading to an unhealthy outcome [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. As a result, the alteration in bacterial metabolites modulates the IB permeability and thus generates an uncontrolled and permissive passage of not only proinflammatory agents (cytokines, interleukins, bacteria, and bacterial products) [ 30 , 31 ] but also bacterial neurotransmitters from the microbial environment and immune cells that can compromise intestinal and brain homeostasis by affecting the BBB integrity leading to inflammatory and neurological disorders [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Protective Application of Morus and Its Extracts in Animal Production

“…Different parts of the mulberry tree, including the fruits, leaves, twigs, and roots, contain a variety of phytochemicals with a variety of biological activities [ 73 ]. Phytochemicals act as prebiotics to improve human (and animal) health by altering the composition of the gut microbes [ 74 ]. In addition, mulberry tree extracts are an important Chinese herbal medicine, with significant effects on improving the body immunity, protecting multiple organs (e.g., liver, cardiac, liver, and kidney), as well as fighting oxidative stress and inflammation [ 75 , 76 , 77 ].…”