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Vegetable smoothies as a source of bioactive compounds potentially modulators of the gut microbiota
(2023) Obritzhauser-Bonetti, D. (Desirée); De-Peña, M.P. (María Paz)
Vegetables are very important components of a healthy diet as they are sources of micronutrients, fiber, and bioactive compounds. The aim of this review is to explore whether vegetable smoothies can be regarded as a relevant dietary source of bioactive compounds, particularly polyphenols. Additionally, it aims to assess whether the polyphenols found in the vegetables commonly consumed in these smoothies have the potential to modulate the gut microbiota. The vegetables studied for their frequent use in vegetable smoothies were kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, carrots, beets, and pumpkin. The results showed that the most abundant polyphenols were kaempferol derivatives and quercetin in kale, flavonols in spinach, quercetin and kaempferol in cucumber, furanocoumarins in celery, luteolin in beetroot and pumpkin, and phenolic acids in carrot. All the vegetables studied, except for pumpkin and cucumber for which no evidence has been found, showed to modulate the gut microbiota, exerting a prebiotic effect, and increasing short-chain fatty acid production (SCFA).