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Review
. 2024 Feb 28;13(5):739.
doi: 10.3390/foods13050739.

Local and Systemic Effects of Bioactive Food Ingredients: Is There a Role for Functional Foods to Prime the Gut for Resilience?

Emma F Jacquier  1 , Marcel van de Wouw  2 , Elena Nekrasov  3 , Nikhat Contractor  3 , Amira Kassis  1 , Diana Marcu  4
Affiliations
Review

Local and Systemic Effects of Bioactive Food Ingredients: Is There a Role for Functional Foods to Prime the Gut for Resilience?

Emma F Jacquier et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Scientific advancements in understanding the impact of bioactive components in foods on the gut microbiota and wider physiology create opportunities for designing targeted functional foods. The selection of bioactive ingredients with potential local or systemic effects holds promise for influencing overall well-being. An abundance of studies demonstrate that gut microbiota show compositional changes that correlate age and disease. However, navigating this field, especially for non-experts, remains challenging, given the abundance of bioactive ingredients with varying levels of scientific substantiation. This narrative review addresses the current knowledge on the potential impact of the gut microbiota on host health, emphasizing gut microbiota resilience. It explores evidence related to the extensive gut health benefits of popular dietary components and bioactive ingredients, such as phytochemicals, fermented greens, fibres, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Importantly, this review distinguishes between the potential local and systemic effects of both popular and emerging ingredients. Additionally, it highlights how dietary hormesis promotes gut microbiota resilience, fostering better adaptation to stress-a hallmark of health. By integrating examples of bioactives, this review provides insights to guide the design of evidence-based functional foods aimed at priming the gut for resilience.

Keywords: fibres; functional foods; gut health; hormesis; microbiota; nutrition; phytonutrients; resilience.

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Conflict of interest statement

E.F.J. is a paid consultant to Access Business Group International LLC. E.N. and N.C. are employees of Access Business Group International LLC. The funder had the following involvement in this review article: review of data collection, review of design, decision to publish, and preparation of the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
How perturbations (or challenges) may influence the homeostasis of the gut microbiota. (Figure reproduced with permission from Sommer et al., 2017 [16]).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The relationship between dietary hormetins, gut microbiota resilience, and the bidirectional communication with the brain that may shape the body’s ability to respond to stress.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Functional food components can be carefully selected to exert positive effects on the gut microbiota, which may contribute to enhancing resilience and promoting homeostasis and stress adaptation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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