Exploring and disentangling the production of potentially bioactive phenolic catabolites from dietary (poly)phenols, phenylalanine, tyrosine and catecholamines
Michael N. Clifford,
Iziar A. Ludwig,
Gema Pereira-Caro,
Laila Zeraik,
Gina Borges,
Tahani M. Almutairi,
Sara Dobani,
Letizia Bresciani,
Pedro Mena,
Chris I.R. Gill,
Alan Crozier
Affiliations
Michael N. Clifford
School of Bioscience and Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom; Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food, Monash University, Notting Hill, Victoria, Australia
Iziar A. Ludwig
Center for Nutrition Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Gema Pereira-Caro
Department of Agroindustry and Food Quality, IFAPA-Alameda Del Obispo, Córdoba, Spain; Foods for Health Group, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Córdoba, Spain
Laila Zeraik
Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Gina Borges
PolyphenolBio Ltd., Glasgow, United Kingdom
Tahani M. Almutairi
Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Sara Dobani
Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, United Kingdom
Letizia Bresciani
Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Pedro Mena
Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; Microbiome Research Hub, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Chris I.R. Gill
Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine, United Kingdom
Alan Crozier
Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; Corresponding author. Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Following ingestion of fruits, vegetables and derived products, (poly)phenols that are not absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract pass to the colon, where they undergo microbiota-mediated ring fission resulting in the production of a diversity of low molecular weight phenolic catabolites, which appear in the circulatory system and are excreted in urine along with their phase II metabolites. There is increasing interest in these catabolites because of their potential bioactivity and their use as biomarkers of (poly)phenol intake. Investigating the fate of dietary (poly)phenolics in the colon has become confounded as a result of the recent realisation that many of the phenolics appearing in biofluids can also be derived from the aromatic amino acids, l-phenylalanine and l-tyrosine, and to a lesser extent catecholamines, in reactions that can be catalysed by both colonic microbiota and endogenous mammalian enzymes. The available evidence, albeit currently rather limited, indicates that substantial amounts of phenolic catabolites originate from phenylalanine and tyrosine, while somewhat smaller quantities are produced from dietary (poly)phenols. This review outlines information on this topic and assesses procedures that can be used to help distinguish between phenolics originating from dietary (poly)phenols, the two aromatic amino acids and catecholamines.
