Santhiravel, S, Bekhit, AE-DA, Mendis, E et al. (4 more authors) (2022) The Impact of Plant Phytochemicals on the Gut Microbiota of Humans for a Balanced Life. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (15). 8124. ISSN 1422-0067
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | plant foods; phytochemicals; gut microbiota; digestive process; metabolic diseases; health and wellness |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Aug 2022 10:33 |
Last Modified: | 17 Aug 2022 10:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/ijms23158124 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:189937 |