Measuring Dietary Botanical Diversity as a Proxy for Phytochemical Exposure

Autor: Henry J. Thompson, Jack O. Levitt, John N. McGinley, Paulette Chandler, Patricia M. Guenther, Inge Huybrechts, Mary C. Playdon
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nutrients, Vol 13, Iss 4, p 1295 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2072-6643
DOI: 10.3390/nu13041295
Popis: The study of natural plant molecules and their medicinal properties, pharmacognosy, provides a taxonomy for botanical families that represent diverse chemical groupings with potentially distinct functions in relation to human health. Yet, this reservoir of knowledge has not been systematically applied to elucidating the role of patterns of plant food consumption on gut microbial ecology and function. All chemical classes of dietary phytochemicals can affect the composition of the microbes that colonize the gut and their function. In turn, the gut microbiome affects the host via multiple mechanisms including gut barrier function, immune function, satiety and taste regulation and the activity of biological signaling pathways that influence health and disease. Herein, we report the development of a botanical diversity index (BDI) to evaluate plant food consumption as a novel metric for identifying and quantifying phytochemicals to which an individual is exposed. A rationale is advanced for using the BDI to investigate how plant food diversity impacts gut microbial ecology and functionality.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals