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Bioactives in Inflammation, Intestinal Health, Glucose and Bone Metabolism (Poster Theater Flash Session 4)

(PTFS04-04-25) Association Between Dietary Polyphenol Intake and Polyphenol-Utilizing Bacteria in Healthy Adults

Sunday, June 1, 2025
10:12 AM – 10:16 AM ET
Location: South Hall B (The Hub) - Poster Theater / Poster Board Number PT-4
Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition Postdoctoral Research Award Competition

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Stephanie MG Wilson, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Postdoctoral Fellow
    Texas A&M IHA; USDA ARS WHNRC; Montana State University
    Sacramento, California, United States

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • AO

    Andrew Oliver, PhD

    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Oakland, California, United States

  • ZA

    Zeynep Alkan, B.S.

    Chemist
    USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center
    Davis, California, United States

  • BP

    Bhimu S. Patil

    Texas A&M IHA, United States

  • Charles B. Stephensen, PhD

    Research Leader
    USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center
    Davis, California, United States

  • Mary E. Kable, PhD

    Research Scientist/Adjunct Assistant Professor
    USDA-ARS, Western Human Nutrition Research Center
    Davis, California, United States

  • Danielle G. Lemay, PhD

    Research Molecular Biologist
    USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center
    Davis, California, United States

Objectives: Dietary polyphenols have the potential to shape, and be shaped by, our gut microbiome. However, the relationship between polyphenol intake and the microbial capacity to metabolize polyphenols is poorly characterized. Thus, we combined polyphenol intake estimates from 24-hour diet recalls and human fecal shotgun metagenomes to examine the relationship between polyphenol intake and the polyphenol utilization capacity of the gut microbiome in healthy adults.

Methods: Healthy adults participated in a cross-sectional study balanced for age, sex, and BMI. Polyphenol intake was previously estimated by mapping multiple 24-hr dietary recalls to FooDB. We coupled intake with microbial functional profiles from shotgun-sequenced fecal metagenomes (n =313). Microbial reads were mapped to dbPUP, a database with 60 experimentally characterized polyphenol utilization proteins (PUPs). Spearman correlations, adjusted for multiple testing, were used to evaluate relationships between PUP gene abundance and polyphenol intake at different resolutions of intake (total, class, compound). Rank-based regression analysis was then used to examine the association between isoflavonoid intake and bacteria with correlated genes, adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and fiber intake.

Results: We found isoflavonoid intake correlated with the abundance of microbial daidzein reductase genes (rs = -0.12, p<sub>adj = 0.03). Of bacteria with daidzein reductase genes, isoflavonoid intake was related to the abundance of Roseburia faecis (β = 0.006, p<sub>adj = 0.0003) and Intestinibacter barlettii (β = 0.0002, p<sub>adj = 0.004). At the compound level, quercetin 3-rutinoside intake correlated with alpha-L-rhamnosidase gene abundance (rs = -0.15, p<sub>adj = 0.01). We did not observe correlations between total polyphenol intake and total PUP gene abundance or single PUP genes.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that polyphenol intake in healthy adults is linked to bacteria involved in daidzein and quercetin 3-rutinoside metabolism. Dietary interventions can provide additional insights into how polyphenol consumption influences the gut microbial community.

Funding Sources: USDA-ARS, Texas A&M IHA