Imagine a world where we fully understand how the foods we eat transform our health, thanks to the tiniest residents of our bodies—gut microbes.
The gut microbiota, the community of microbes in our digestive system, plays a crucial role in human health. Our diet significantly impacts these microbes, but monitoring changes in real-time is tricky.
Traditional methods, like analyzing fecal samples, only show the “end result” and don’t capture what happens in different parts of the digestive tract. Since animal models don’t perfectly replicate human biology, scientists are creating in vitro systems—lab models that mimic the human digestive system.
At the University of Eastern Finland, researchers simulate digestion and study how food, ingredients, or contaminants interact with gut microbes. They analyze how these factors change the variety of bacteria and the compounds (metabolites) they produce. Typically, changes are tracked over 24 hours, as this matches how long food stays in the colon.
The gut microbes used in these studies come from healthy donors or specific groups (like infants) to tailor the research to different populations. These advancements help us understand more precisely how diet influences gut health.
Gomez Gallego’s research emphasizes the health benefits of plant-based foods and their bioactive compounds, particularly using advanced gut models to study these effects. For example, in collaboration with the University of Murcia in Spain, they explored orange peels—an abundant by-product in the food industry.
The study showed that fibers from orange peels boosted beneficial gut bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. This opens possibilities for using such by-products in enriched foods or supplements.
Beyond orange peels, the team is investigating various topics: the interaction of gut microbes with bread, phenolic compounds from plants and berries, and even environmental microplastics.
Excitingly, they are studying Schisandrin B, a phenolic compound from the Schisandra chinensis (five-flavor berry), which has shown potential anticarcinogenic effects against colon cancer. They aim to discover how its gut metabolites may contribute to these properties.
Local companies in Kuopio are also partnering to test their products’ potential health impacts, showing how this research can have practical, regional applications.
Gomez Gallego’s earlier research at the Universities of Murcia and Turku focused on polyamines and bioactive peptides in breast milk and infant formulas. These compounds are vital in shaping gut microbiota and strengthening the immune system.
However, the research revealed that some infant formulas and mothers’ breast milk had low levels of polyamines, potentially due to genetic or dietary factors.
Polyamines are crucial for tissue growth and regeneration, especially during infancy, old age, and injury recovery. While our cells produce polyamines, dietary sources are essential to meet increased demands. Interestingly, beneficial gut bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium also produce polyamines, highlighting the importance of supporting a healthy gut microbiota.
Gallego aims to continue this research by developing more accurate methods to analyze polyamines and further exploring their health significance. Such studies could lead to innovations in infant nutrition and gut health strategies.
Gomez Gallego and Professor Marjukka Kolehmainen are advancing an in vitro gastrointestinal model with funding from the Research Council of Finland and the European Union. Their earlier model simulated digestion phase by phase, but the latest version mimics a continuous flow, offering more dynamic insights. Soon, the model will include human cell cocultures to study how the gut wall—a crucial barrier against harmful substances—interacts with different foods and microbes.
This research emphasizes the connection between gut health and sustainable food systems. Food production’s environmental and climatic impacts make supporting a shift towards plant-based diets vital. Plant-based foods offer sustainability and contain fibers and bioactive compounds that promote gut health, unlike meat.
The team also highlights the need for further studies on how various plant proteins function in the body as these alternatives expand. This research could shape both individual dietary choices and broader sustainable food policies.
Gomez Gallego is deeply invested in promoting sustainability by utilizing local resources and by-products. As a member of the UEF Forest and Bioeconomy Research Community, his interests include forest-derived foods like berries and mushrooms and exploring innovative uses for wood industry by-products with potential health benefits such as antioxidant or anticarcinogenic properties. He also sees value in rediscovering traditional forest-based food practices.
On a global scale, Gallego leads an international collaboration funded by the Team Finland Knowledge Programme, involving Peru, Bolivia, and Finland. This initiative focuses on Andean crops like quinoa and amaranth—climate-resilient alternatives to the few sensitive crops currently dominating farming systems. These crops promise sustainable, worldwide production, contributing to food security and environmental goals.
Moreover, his efforts extend into education, with an online course on sustainable food systems that has been well-received. Plans are in motion to expand similar collaborations to explore local and traditional crops in South Africa, reinforcing his commitment to creating a more sustainable and diverse food future.
Source: Tech Explorist
