Tannins. Bioactivity and effect on gut microbiota
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Molino, SilviaEditorial
Universidad de Granada
Departamento
Universidad de Granada. Programa de Doctorado en Nutrición y Ciencias de los AlimentosMateria
Tannins Gut microbiota
Date
2022Fecha lectura
2022-01-24Referencia bibliográfica
Molino, Silvia. Tannins. Bioactivity and effect on gut microbiota. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2022. [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/72470]
Sponsorship
Tesis Univ. Granada.Abstract
Changes due to modern life behaviours have led to a progressive modification of
dietary patterns. The consequent increasing interest of consumers for new healthy
foods has given a big push to the development of innovative functional products.
Tannins are appealing bioactive ingredients for designing dietary supplements as
they have been described to help in prevent or delay the evolution of several diseases.
However, these polyphenols are not yet really exploited in the food industry due to
a lack of information on various aspects. Therefore, this doctoral thesis has been
developed to determine the different interactions and effects that tannins can have
on the human body depending on their chemical origin and the administered amount.
The second step focused on the study of the incorporation of tannins in food. The
search was directed for technological strategies to mask possible alterations in the
flavour and to avoid possible detrimental changes in the structure of food products,
while maintaining unaltered the bioactive effect exerted by tannins. Thanks to the
results obtained from the in vitro studies it was possible to design a small nutritional
intervention with healthy volunteers.
This research highlighted the powerful bioactive effect of tannins after
gastrointestinal digestion and fermentation, exerted as antioxidant activity and as a
prebiotic effect that induces beneficial shifts in the microbiota, in terms of
composition and functionality. Tannins, as promising tools for the promotion of a
healthy gut environment could be applied as bioactive ingredients boosting the
effects induced by food, or as dietary supplement, with potential long-term benefits
for metabolism and immunity.