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. 2023 Dec 16:21:101076.
doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.101076. eCollection 2024 Mar 30.

Bioactivity and influence on colonic microbiota of polyphenols from noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit under simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Juanyun Chen  1   2   3 , Xiaoai Chen  1   2 , Yanjun Zhang  1   2 , Zhen Feng  1   2 , Kexue Zhu  1   2 , Fei Xu  1   2 , Chunhe Gu  1   2
Affiliations

Bioactivity and influence on colonic microbiota of polyphenols from noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit under simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Juanyun Chen et al. Food Chem X. .

Abstract

Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) is a tropical fruit rich in bioactive compounds. Little is known about its polyphenol composition at different ripeness levels and digestive characteristics. Here, we studied changes in polyphenols and antioxidant activity as noni ripened. Rutin and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside were found in high amounts in noni, with antioxidant capacity increasing as it ripened. Under simulated digestion, polyphenols were gradually released from the oral to gastrointestinal phases, partially decomposing in the small intestine due to their instability. Conversely, fiber-bound phenols were released during colonic fermentation, leading to high bioaccessible antioxidant activity. Additionally, noni consumption affected the intestinal microbiome by reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and increasing bacteria with prebiotic properties like Prevotella and Ruminococcus. These findings demonstrate that polyphenols significantly contribute to the health benefits of noni fruit by providing absorbable antioxidants and improving the structure of the intestinal microbiome.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Gut microbiome; Noni fruit; Polyphenol; Ripeness level.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Noni fruit at different ripeness levels (unripe, underripe, ripe and overripe) used in the study.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bioaccessible total phenolic contents (TPC) and antioxidant capacity of noni fruit subjected to different phases of in vitro digestion and different time points of colonic fermentation (marked by the axis). (A) Total phenolic capacity (TPC); (B) DPPH radical-scavenging activity (DPPH); (C) ABTS scavenging activity (ABTS); (D) Ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The results are expressed as mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per gram of noni on dry weight basis, and the results of DPPH and ABTS are expressed as mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE) per gram of noni, and the results of FRAP are expressed as µmol Fe2+ per gram of noni on dry weight basis. Different letters represent significant difference (p < 0.05).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Microbial diversity and abundance of colonic phase analyzed from control and noni-involved in vitro fecal fermentations at different time points. (A) Bacterial taxonomic profile (Bray-Curtis) at phylum level; (B) Bacterial taxonomic profile (Bray-Curtis) at genus level;(C) PCoA (UniFrac) of all groups. BK: blank control; EX: experimental groups with noni fruit, and the followed numbers indicate time length (hours) of fermentation; (D) Heatmap of microbiota composition at the genus level; (E) Heatmap of the spearman r correlations between polyphenols and gut microbiome at the genus level. * and ** Indicates the associations are significant (p ＜ 0.05 and p ＜ 0.01, respectively).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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