Role of dietary polyphenols and inflammatory processes on disease progression mediated by the gut microbiota

Mendelsohn and Larrick have recently discussed in a recent article in Rejuvenation Research that dietary modifications of the gut microbiota affect the risk for cardiovascular disease. In this context, dietary patterns and single specific nutrients appear to produce singular consequences on the gut microbiota, subsequently impacting on maintenance of well-being and disease onset or evolution, whose intimate influences and mechanisms are now starting to be disentangled. Thus, the consumption of dietary fiber and particular polysaccharides affects colonic fermentation processes involving short-chain fatty acid production, accompanying changes in the environmental pH, inhibiting Bacteroides spp., and rising levels of butyrate-producing Gram-positive bacteria. This scenario may contribute to the design of novel therapeutic approaches to manipulate gut microbiota to treat cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Indeed, cardiovascular risk may be indirectly dependent on pathways associated with microbe-induced obesity or diabetes through inflammation. Diverse components of the diet, including bioactive molecules with bactericidal functions, such as polyphenols, may play a role on intestinal mucosa inflammation and permeability and contribute to explaining the mutual interactions between obesity, diabetes, and adverse cardiovascular events.