Cyanidin 3-glucoside (C3G) is one of the major dietary anthocyanins implicated in the prevention of chronic diseases. To evaluate the impact of human intestinal bacteria on the fate of C3G in the host, we studied the metabolism of C3G in human microbiota-associated (HMA) rats in comparison with germ-free (GF) rats. Urine and faeces of the rats were analysed for C3G and its metabolites within 48 h after the application of 92 μmol C3G/kg body weight. In addition, we tested the microbial C3G conversion in vitro by incubating C3G with human faecal slurries and selected human gut bacteria. The HMA rats excreted with faeces a three times higher percentage of unconjugated C3G products and a two times higher percentage of conjugated C3G products than the GF rats. These differences were mainly due to the increased excretion of 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzaldehyde and 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid. Only the urine of HMA rats contained peonidin and 3-hydroxycinnamic acid and the percentage of conjugated C3G products in the urine was decreased compared with the GF rats. Overall, the presence of intestinal microbiota resulted in a 3·7 % recovery of the C3G dose in HMA rats compared with 1·7 % in GF rats. Human intestinal bacteria rapidly degraded C3G in vitro. Most of the C3G products were also found in the absence of bacteria, but at considerably lower levels. The higher concentrations of phenolic acids observed in the presence of intestinal bacteria may contribute to the proposed beneficial health effects of C3G.

Dietary lignans are phyto-oestrogens that possibly influence human health. The present review deals with lignan bioavailability, the study of which is crucial to determine to what extent metabolism, absorption and excretion of lignans alter their biological properties. Since intestinal bacteria play a major role in lignan conversion, for instance by producing the enterolignans enterodiol and enterolactone, emphasis is put on data obtained in recent bacteriological studies.

We investigated the effect of Brussels sprouts, inulin and a fermented milk on the faecal microbiota diversity of human microbiota-associated (HMA) rats by PCR-temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-TTGE) using universal and group-specific 16S rRNA gene primers. The HMA rats were submitted to a control diet for 10 d (initial time), then switched to the experimental diets for 4 weeks (final time). Using universal primers, the mean degree of similarity between all faecal samples at initial time was 80·8 %. In the group consuming the control diet throughout the experiment, the mean degree of similarity between the PCR-TTGE profiles at initial v. final time was 76·8 %, reflecting a spontaneous temporal variation. The mean degree of similarity between control and experimental groups at final time was lower, 72·4 %, 74·4 % and 75·6 % for inulin, Brussels sprouts and fermented milk, respectively, indicating a dietary effect on the predominant populations. Using specific primers, bifidobacteria could be detected only in those rats that had consumed inulin, showing a specific increasing effect of this dietary compound. The Lactobacillus population was very heterogeneous at initial time but tended to homogenize within each dietary group. At final time, caecal contents were collected for analysis of SCFA and β-glucuronidase activity. Inulin and Brussels sprouts increased the butyrate and acetate proportion, respectively, while the fermented milk did not modify the caecal biochemistry. This experiment shows for the first time that cruciferous vegetables are able to alter the diversity and the metabolic activities of the digestive microbiota in HMA rats.