[SCAN] Cláudia Santos

SCAN

Title: From diet to the brain: disclosing the neuroprotective potential of novel human polyphenol metabolites

Speaker: Cláudia Santos, ITQB NOVA & iBET

Affiliation: Molecular Nutrition and Health Lab

Abstract:

Over the past few decades, epidemiological studies have revealed that diets rich in fruits and vegetables promote health benefits, preventing against age-related disorders. Such pathologies are still without a cure but berries, rich in (poly)phenols, emerge amongst the most promising fruits to be effective protectors. (Poly)phenols and their metabolites must be bioavailable to exert biological effects.  Evidences indicate that (poly)phenol metabolites can enter in the central nervous system in very small amounts but knowledge about their mechanisms of action are scarce.

Phenolic sulfates were identified in plasma samples from a human intervention study and the most relevant were chemically synthesized. The putative transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of bioavailable (poly)phenol metabolites, detected in human plasma, was studied. Physiological concentrations were applied to a cellular model of the BBB and we observed, by LC Orbitrap-MS, that these metabolites are differently transported. Moreover, the neuroprotective effects of these metabolites was explored in different neuronal cells, in 2D and 3D systems, and a protective potential was observed. Our work highlights the pertinence of these of metabolites as valuable biomarkers of (poly)phenol consumption and reinforces its value due to their BBB permeability and ultimate potential as neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory agents.