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Review
. 2022 Dec 22;12(1):17.
doi: 10.3390/antiox12010017.

Metabolic Fate of Orally Ingested Proanthocyanidins through the Digestive Tract

Yoshimi Niwano  1 , Hidetsugu Kohzaki  1 , Midori Shirato  2 , Shunichi Shishido  2 , Keisuke Nakamura  2
Affiliations
Review

Metabolic Fate of Orally Ingested Proanthocyanidins through the Digestive Tract

Yoshimi Niwano et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Proanthocyanidins (PACs), which are oligomers or polymers of flavan-3ols with potent antioxidative activity, are well known to exert a variety of beneficial health effects. Nonetheless, their bioaccessibility and bioavailability have been poorly assessed. In this review, we focused on the metabolic fate of PACs through the digestive tract. When oligomeric and polymeric PACs are orally ingested, a large portion of the PACs reach the colon, where a small portion is subjected to microbial degradation to phenolic acids and valerolactones, despite the possibility that slight depolymerization of PACs occurs in the stomach and small intestine. Valerolactones, as microbiota-generated catabolites of PACs, may contribute to some of the health benefits of orally ingested PACs. The remaining portion interacts with gut microbiota, resulting in improved microbial diversity and, thereby, contributing to improved health. For instance, an increased amount of beneficial gut bacteria (e.g., Akkermansia muciniphila and butyrate-producing bacteria) could ameliorate host metabolic functions, and a lowered ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes at the phylum level could mitigate obesity-related metabolic disorders.

Keywords: digestive tract; gut microbiota; metabolic fate; proanthocyanidin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Shirato, Shishido, and Nakamura are members of an academia–industry collaboration laboratory at Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, which receives funding from Luke Co., Ltd. (Sendai, Japan). This academia–industry collaboration has been examined and approved by the Conflict of Interest Management Committee at Tohoku University. Luke Co., Ltd. and the grant funder had no role in the study’s design, the data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Basic structures of flavan-3-ol: A-type and B-type proanthocyanidins.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intradigestive fate of orally ingested proanthocyanidins (PACs).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Health-beneficial effects of proanthocyanidins (PACs) associated with gut microbiota. The dashed arrow indicates the inhibitory effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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