Abstract
Caffeic acid and its esters, chlorogenic and caftaric acids, are major
dietary polyphenols present in various foods and beverages. Although caffeic
acid is easily absorbed in the small intestine, its esterification with quinic
acid, as in chlorogenic acid, decreases its gut absorption and increases the
quantities reaching the colon and its microbiota. The microbial conversion of
caftaric acid, the tartaric acid ester of caffeic acid, has not been studied
earlier. In this work we compared the direct action of a human faecal
microbiota on the metabolism of caffeic, chlorogenic and caftaric acids in an
in vitro fermentation model. All substrates disappeared quickly and none of
the free acids (caffeic, quinic or tartaric acids) were detected after 2 hours
of incubation. Two major microbial metabolites were identified by
HPLC–ESI–MS–MS as 3-hydroxyphenylpropionic (3-HPP) and benzoic acids (BA).
Maximal levels of 3-HPP were reached after 2 h of fermentation and accounted
for 9–24% of the dose of caffeic acid and its esters. BA was formed steadily
throughout the incubation, accounting for 4–5% of the initial dose of the
substrates after 24 h of incubation. The similarities in the metabolic
patterns observed for caffeic, chlorogenic and caftaric acids suggest that
esterification does not influence the metabolism of caffeic acid by the gut
microbiota.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 536 - 540 |
Journal | Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2006 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Polyphenols
- Caffeic acid
- Chlorogenic acid
- Caftaric acid
- Faecal microbiota
- In vitro metabolism