A substantial portion of curcumin remains in the fecal content after oral administration due to its poor bioavailability, while gut microbiota may significantly contribute to the biotransformation of curcumin in the large intestine. Uncovering the gut bacteria-derived metabolites of curcumin play a crucial role in understanding the biological effects of curcumin. Antibiotics were applied to deplete gut microbiota in mice to identify the bacteria-derived metabolites of curcumin. Hexahydro-demethyl-curcumin (HHDC) and hexahydro-didemethyl-curcumin (HHDDC) were identified as novel microbiota-derived metabolites of curcumin in mice, as evidenced by the fact that HHDC and HHDDC were rich in non-antibiotic-treated mice but cannot be detected in antibiotics-treat mice. Furthermore, the results were validated by comparing the presence of HHDC and HHDDC before and after antibiotics treatment in the same batch of mice. Fecal samples showed high concentrations of HHDC and HHDDC in the day before antibiotics treatments, but both decreased sharply along with the depletion of bacteria by antibiotics. Collectively, our study for the first time revealed two novel bacteria-derived metabolites of curcumin in mice, which may shed light on the biological fate of curcumin <i>in vivo</i>, as well as its health effects.

Identification of novel gut microbiota-derived metabolites of curcumin in mice

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.