Effects of Ellagic Acid Supplementation on Jejunal Morphology, Digestive Enzyme Activities, Antioxidant Capacity, and Microbiota in Mice

Dietary supplementation with ellagic acid improves the growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of yellow-feathered broiler chickens

The aim of this research was to explore the effects of ellagic acid (EA) on growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of broiler chickens. 240 healthy yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups (6 replicates/group and 10 broilers /replicate): 1) a standard diet (CON); 2) CON+0.01% EA; 3) CON+0.02% EA; 4) CON+0.04% EA. Compared with the CON group, dietary 0.02% EA increased linearly and quadratically the ADG and lowered F/G ratio from 29 to 56 d and from 1 to 56 d of age (P < 0.05). The EA groups had higher spleen index and showed linear and quadratic improve thymus index (P < 0.05). A total of 0.02% EA linearly and quadratically increased the leg muscle percentage and quadratically increased the breast muscle percentage (P < 0.05). Compared to the control diet, 0.02% EA decreased quadratically the L* and increased a* of breast muscle at 45 min postslaughter (P < 0.05), and quadratically decreased (P < 0.05) the b* and increased linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) drip loss. Additionally, EA improved linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) serum total protein concentration and reduced linearly and quadratically (P < 0.05) serum blood urea nitrogen concentration. A total of 0.02% EA quadratically increased catalase activity and decreased malondialdehyde concentration in breast muscle compared with the control diet (P < 0.05). 0.02% and 0.04% EA could linearly and quadratically increase (P < 0.05) the concentrations of histidine, leucine and essential amino acids (EAA), 0.02% EA could linearly and quadratically increase (P < 0.05) the concentrations of threonine, glutamate, and flavored amino acids in breast muscle. 0.02% EA linearly and quadratically improved the C20:3n6, C22:6n3, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations, and the ratio of PUFA to saturated fatty acids (SFA), but reduced the C16:0 and the SFA concentrations in breast muscle than the CON group (P < 0.05). The EA diet linearly increased (P = 0.035) and quadratically tended (P = 0.068) to regulate the C18:2n6c concentration of breast muscle. Metabolomics showed that alanine metabolism, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism were the most differentially abundant. These results showed that EA supported moderate positive effects on growth performance, meat quality, and metabolomics profile of broilers.

Dietary Berberine and Ellagic Acid Supplementation Improve Growth Performance and Intestinal Damage by Regulating the Structural Function of Gut Microbiota and SCFAs in Weaned Piglets

Early weaning is an effective method for improving the utilization rate of sows in intensive pig farms. However, weaning stress induces diarrhea and intestinal damage in piglets. Berberine (BBR) is known for its anti-diarrhea properties and ellagic acid (EA) is known for its antioxidant properties, however, whether their combination improves diarrhea and intestinal damage in piglets has not been studied, and the mechanism remains unclear. To explore the combined effects in this experiment, a total of 63 weaned piglets (Landrace × Yorkshire) were divided into three groups at 21 days. Piglets in the Ctrl group were treated with a basal diet and 2 mL saline orally, while those in the BE group were treated with a basal diet supplemented with 10 mg/kg (BW) BBR, 10 mg/kg (BW) EA, and 2 mL saline orally. Piglets in the FBE group were treated with a basal diet and 2 mL fecal microbiota suspension from the BE group orally, respectively, for 14 days. Compared with the Ctrl group, dietary supplementation with BE improved growth performance by increasing the average daily gain and average daily food intake and reducing the fecal score in weaned piglets. Dietary supplementation with BE also improved intestinal morphology and cell apoptosis by increasing the ratio of villus height to crypt depth and decreasing the average optical density of apoptotic cells; meanwhile, improvements also involved attenuating oxidative stress and intestinal barrier dysfunction by increasing the total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, and catalase, and upregulating the mRNA expressions of Occludin, Claudin-1, and ZO-1. Interestingly, the oral administration of a fecal microbiota suspension to piglets fed BE had similar effects to those of the BE group. According to 16S rDNA sequencing analysis, dietary supplementation with BE altered the composition of the microbiota, including firmicutes, bacteroidetes, lactobacillus, phascolarctobacterium, and parabacteroides, and increased the metabolites of propionate and butyrate. In addition, Spearman analysis revealed that improvements in growth performance and intestinal damage were significantly correlated with differential bacteria and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In brief, dietary supplementation with BE improved the growth performance and intestinal damage by altering the gut microbiota composition and SCFAs in weaned piglets.

Relationship between Dietary Polyphenols and Gut Microbiota: New Clues to Improve Cognitive Disorders, Mood Disorders and Circadian Rhythms

Cognitive, mood and sleep disorders are common and intractable disorders of the central nervous system, causing great inconvenience to the lives of those affected. The gut-brain axis plays a vital role in studying neurological disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases by acting as a channel for a bidirectional information exchange between the gut microbiota and the nervous system. Dietary polyphenols have received widespread attention because of their excellent biological activity and their wide range of sources, structural diversity and low toxicity. Dietary intervention through the increased intake of dietary polyphenols is an emerging strategy for improving circadian rhythms and treating metabolic disorders. Dietary polyphenols have been shown to play an essential role in regulating intestinal flora, mainly by maintaining the balance of the intestinal flora and enhancing host immunity, thereby suppressing neurodegenerative pathologies. This paper reviewed the bidirectional interactions between the gut microbiota and the brain and their effects on the central nervous system, focusing on dietary polyphenols that regulate circadian rhythms and maintain the health of the central nervous system through the gut-brain axis.

Hydroxytyrosol attenuates diquat-induced oxidative stress by activating Nrf2 pathway and modulating colonic microbiota in mice

This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant effects of hydroxytyrosol (HT) administration in diquat (DQ)-challenged mice. The results showed that HT treatment markedly alleviated DQ-induced oxidative stress, which was indicated by the enhanced total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum. Additionally, HT increased the mRNA expression levels of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream genes, including NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and catalase (CAT) in the small intestine of DQ-challenged mice. 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that HT treatment increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus and decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. Interestingly, Pearson correlation analysis showed that there were strong association between colonic Firmicutes, Lactobacillus, and Bacteroidetes and the activities of serum antioxidant enzymes. Meanwhile, HT significantly enhanced the colonic butyrate concentration in DQ-challenged mice. Additionally, HT treatment decreased the serum metabolites involving in glycerophospholipid metabolism, pentose, and glucuronate interconversions, which were associated with alleviated oxidative stress. These results indicate that oral administration of 100 mg/kg body weight HT alleviates oxidative stress in DQ-challenged mice, which may involve Nrf2 signaling pathways via modulation of colonic microbiota.

The Impact of Ellagitannins and Their Metabolites through Gut Microbiome on the Gut Health and Brain Wellness within the Gut-Brain Axis

Ellagitannins (ETs) are a large group of bioactive compounds found in plant-source foods, such as pomegranates, berries, and nuts. The consumption of ETs has often been associated with positive effects on many pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative syndromes, and cancer. Although multiple biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive) have been discussed for ETs, their limited bioavailability prevents reaching significant concentrations in systemic circulation. Instead, urolithins, ET gut microbiota-derived metabolites, are better absorbed and could be the bioactive molecules responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities or anti-tumor cell progression. In this review, we examined the dietary sources, metabolism, and bioavailability of ETs, and analyzed the last recent findings on ETs, ellagic acid, and urolithins, their intestinal and brain activities, the potential mechanisms of action, and the connection between the ET microbiota metabolism and the consequences detected on the gut-brain axis. The current in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies indicate that ET-rich foods, individual gut microbiomes, or urolithin types could modulate signaling pathways and promote beneficial health effects. A better understanding of the role of these metabolites in disease pathogenesis may assist in the prevention or treatment of pathologies targeting the gut-brain axis.

Ellagic acid: insight into its protective effects in age-associated disorders

The disparity in the free radical generation and the production of antioxidants to counteract its effect is known as oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes damage to the macromolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA and RNA. The oxidative damage to the cellular components leads to a process of aging and various age-associated disorders. The literature survey for this review was done using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. The papers showing the studies related to aging and age-associated disorders have been selected for reviewing this paper. Ellagic acid has been used as the keyword, and more emphasis has been put on papers from the last 10 years. However, some papers with significant studies prior to 10 years have also been considered. Almost 250 papers have been studied for reviewing this paper, and about 135 papers have been cited. Ellagic acid (EA) is present in high quantities in pomegranate and various types of berries. It is known to possess the antioxidant potential and protects from the harmful effects of free radicals. Various studies have shown its effect to protect cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, cancer, and diabetes. The present review focuses on the protective effect of ellagic acid in age-associated disorders. The effect of EA has been studied in various chronic disorders but the scope of this review is limited to cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. All the disease aspects have not been addressed in this particular review.

MYB transcription factors-master regulators of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and diverse developmental and stress responses

Phenylpropanoids, the largest class of natural products including flavonoids, anthocyanins, monolignols and tannins perform multiple functions ranging from photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, regulating growth, cell division, maintenance of redox homeostasis and biotic and abiotic stress responses. Being sedentary life forms, plants possess several regulatory modules that increase their performance in varying environments by facilitating activation of several signaling cascades upon perception of developmental and stress signals. Of the various regulatory modules, those involving MYB transcription factors are one of the extensive groups involved in regulating the phenylpropanoid metabolic enzymes in addition to other genes. R2R3 MYB transcription factors are a class of plant-specific transcription factors that regulate the expression of structural genes involved in anthocyanin, flavonoid and monolignol biosynthesis which are indispensable to several developmental pathways and stress responses. The aim of this review is to present the regulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway by MYB transcription factors via Phospholipase D/phosphatidic acid signaling, downstream activation of the structural genes, leading to developmental and/or stress responses. Specific MYB transcription factors inducing or repressing specific structural genes of anthocyanin, flavonoid and lignin biosynthetic pathways are discussed. Further the roles of MYB in activating biotic and abiotic stress responses are delineated. While several articles have reported the role of MYB's in stress responses, they are restricted to two or three specific MYB factors. This review is a consolidation of the diverse roles of different MYB transcription factors involved both in induction and repression of anthocyanin, flavonoid, and lignin biosynthesis.

Dietary supplementation ellagic acid on the growth, intestinal immune response, microbiota, and inflammation in weaned piglets

Piglets are susceptible to weaning stress, which weakens the barrier and immune function of the intestinal mucosa, causes inflammation, and ultimately affects animal growth and development. Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural polyphenol dilactone with various biological functions. However, The mechanisms underlying the effects of EA on animal health are still poorly known. Herein, we examined whether dietary supplementation with EA has a positive effect on growth performance, intestinal health, immune response, microbiota, or inflammation in weaned piglets. Sixty weaned piglets (age, 30 days) were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (basic diet) and the test group (basic diet + 500 g/t EA). The pigs were fed for 40 days under the same feeding and management conditions, and the growth performance of each individual was measured. At the end of the feeding period, samples were collected from the small intestinal mucosa for further analysis. Using these tissues, the transcriptome sequences and intestinal microbial diversity were analyzed in both groups. An inflammation model using small intestinal mucosal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) was also constructed. Dietary EA supplementation significantly increased the average daily weight gain (ADG) and reduced diarrhea rate and serum diamine oxidase (DAO) levels of weaned piglets. Transcriptome sequencing results revealed 401 differentially expressed genes in the jejunum mucosal tissue of pigs in the control and test groups. Of these, 163 genes were up-regulated and 238 were down-regulated. The down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in 10 pathways (false discovery rate &lt; 0.05), including seven pathways related to immune response. The results of bacterial 16s rDNA sequencing show that EA affects the composition of the intestinal microbiota in the cecum and rectum, and reveal significant differences in the abundances of Prevotella_9, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, and Lactobacillus reuteri between the test and control groups (P &lt; 0.05). Experiments using the inflammation model showed that certain doses of EA promote the proliferation of IPEC-J2 cells, increase the relative mRNA expression levels of tight junction-related proteins (ZO-1 and Occludin), improve the compactness of the intestine, reduce the expression of inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6, and significantly reduce LPS-induced inflammation in IPEC-J2 cells. In conclusion, we found for the first time that dietary supplementation of EA affects the gut immune response and promotes the beneficial gut microbiota in weaned piglets, reduces the occurrence of inflammatory responses, and thereby promotes the growth and intestinal health of piglets.

Mechanisms by Which Traditional Chinese Medicines Influence the Intestinal Flora and Intestinal Barrier

The effect of a drug on the intestinal flora and the intestinal barrier is an important evaluation index for drug safety and efficacy. Chemical synthetic drugs are widely used due to their advantages of fast efficacy and low doses, but they are prone to cause drug resistance and inhibit proton pumps, which may harm intestinal health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been applied clinically for thousands of years, and how TCMs regulate intestinal health to achieve their effects of disease treatment has become a hot research topic that needs to be resolved. This paper reviews the recent research on the effects of TCMs on intestinal microorganisms and the intestinal mucosal barrier after entering the intestine, discusses the interaction mechanisms between TCMs and intestinal flora, and details the repair effect of TCMs on the intestinal mucosal barrier to provide a reference for the development, utilization, and modernization of TCM.

Ellagic Acid Alleviates Oxidative Stress by Mediating Nrf2 Signaling Pathways and Protects against Paraquat-Induced Intestinal Injury in Piglets

The gastrointestinal tract is a key source of superoxide so as to be one of the most vulnerable to oxidative stress damage. Ellagic acid (EA), a polyphenol displays widely biological activities owing to its strong antioxidant properties. Here, we investigated the protective benefits of EA on oxidative stress and intestinal barrier injury in paraquet (PQ)-challenged piglets. A total of 40 weaned piglets were randomly divided into five groups: Control, PQ, 0.005% EA-PQ, 0.01% EA-PQ, and 0.02% EA-PQ. Piglets were intraperitoneally injected with 4 mg/kg (BW) PQ or saline on d-18, and sacrificed on d-21 of experiment. EA treatments eliminated growth-check induced by PQ and increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity but decreased serum malondialdehyde (MDA) level as compared to PQ group. EA supplementation promoted Nrf2 nuclear translocation and enhanced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) protein abundances of small intestinal mucosa. Additionally, EA improved PQ-induced crypt deepening, goblet cells loss, and villi morphological damage. Consistently, EA increased tight junction protein expression as was evident from the decreased serum diamine oxidase (DAO) levels. EA could ameliorate the PQ-induced oxidative stress and intestinal damage through mediating Nrf2 signaling pathway. Intake of EA-rich food might prevent oxidative stress-mediated gut diseases.