Journal Article

The Metabolomic-Gut-Clinical Axis of Mankai Plant-Derived Dietary Polyphenols

Arapitsas, Panagiotis, Heinig, Uwe, Vrhovsek, Urska, Aharoni, Asaph, Diotallevi, Camilla, Tsaban, Gal, Zeibich, Lydia, Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa, Rolle-Kampczyk, Ulrike, Ceglarek, Uta, Chang, Debbie, Engelmann, Beatrice, Lapidot, Miri, Yaskolka Meir, Anat, von Bergen, Martin, Colt, Monica, Sun, Qi, Zelicha, Hila, Kaplan, Alon, Haange, Sven-Bastiaan, Shai, Iris, Rinott, Ehud, Dirks, Blake, Tuohy, Kieran

2021

Overview

Background: Polyphenols are secondary metabolites produced by plants to defend themselves from environmental stressors. We explored the effect of Wolffia globosa ‘Mankai’, a novel cultivated strain of a polyphenol-rich aquatic plant, on the metabolomic-gut clinical axis in vitro, in-vivo and in a clinical trial. Methods: We used mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics methods from three laboratories to detect Mankai phenolic metabolites and examined predicted functional pathways in a Mankai artificial-gut bioreactor. Plasma and urine polyphenols were assessed among the 294 DIRECT-PLUS 18-month trial participants, comparing the effect of a polyphenol-rich green-Mediterranean diet (+1240 mg/polyphenols/day, provided by Mankai, green tea and walnuts) to a walnuts-enriched (+440 mg/polyphenols/day) Mediterranean diet and a healthy controlled diet. Results: Approximately 200 different phenolic compounds were specifically detected in the Mankai plant. The Mankai-supplemented bioreactor artificial gut displayed a significantly higher relative-abundance of 16S-rRNA bacterial gene sequences encoding for enzymes involved in phenolic compound degradation. In humans, several Mankai-related plasma and urine polyphenols were differentially elevated in the green Mediterranean group compared with the other groups (p < 0.05) after six and 18 months of intervention (e.g., urine hydroxy-phenyl-acetic-acid and urolithin-A; plasma Naringenin and 2,5-diOH-benzoic-acid). Specific polyphenols, such as urolithin-A and 4-ethylphenol, were directly involved with clinical weight-related changes. Conclusions: The Mankai new plant is rich in various unique potent polyphenols, potentially affecting the metabolomic-gut-clinical axis.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Adult / Aquatic plants / Araceae - metabolism / Araceae - microbiology / Bioavailability / bioreactors / Chromatography / clinical trials / Diet / Diet, Mediterranean / digestive system / Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects / genes / Green tea / Humans / Instrument industry / Israel / Juglans - metabolism / Juglans - microbiology / Mass Spectrometry / Mediterranean diet / Metabolites / metabolomics / Metabolomics - methods / naringenin / Nutritive Value / Plant metabolites / Polyphenols / Polyphenols - administration & dosage / Polyphenols - blood / Polyphenols - urine / Scientific imaging / secondary metabolites / Tea - metabolism / Tea - microbiology / Urine / Wolffia globosa