Microbiome, Diet and Health (BEA)

Group members

Research Staff

• M. Victoria Moreno Arribas
• Begoña Bartolomé Sualdea
• Dolores González de Llano

Postdoctoral Staff

• Carolina Cueva Sánchez
• Natalia Molinero García
• Alba Tamargo García
• Diego Taladrid Gandía

Predoctoral Staff

• Cristina Jiménez Arroyo
• Marta Montero Atalaya
• Edgard Relaño de la Guía
• Iris Pinillos Sanz
• Mikel Roldán García

Technical Staff

• Raquel de Diego de la Serna

Research Summary

The great inter-individual variability in the composition of the human microbiota complicates or makes it impossible to answer the question of what is a “normal” or “adequate” microbiota. That is, while the gut microbiota is a key element in health promotion, the concept of “healthy microbiota” is still imprecise and difficult to define.  It is therefore urgent to find markers – presence or absence of key species, structure of microbial consortia and especially derived metabolites – associated with a good state of health or with situations that may contribute to/prevent the onset and development of diseases.

The group studies how diet and lifestyle, together with other environmental factors and ageing, affect the oral and gut microbiota, from the point of view of their metabolic functionality and the identification of new biomarkers for digestive health or microbiome-related conditions in other organs beyond the gut, including the brain and central nervous system. We analyse dietary components and factors that may be related to our physiology and our individual microbiome, and how they affect the way we metabolise dietary components and the benefits we obtain from them. This knowledge helps us to better understand the complex interactions between food, our microbiome and our own genome in order to tailor diets and therapies with the ultimate goal of promoting better individual health at different stages throughout our life.The group is focused in the interactions between polyphenols and the gut microbiota from food intake in combination with the response to different treatments (drugs, xenobiotics, etc), as well as understanding the individual’s ability to absorb, metabolise and extract the health benefits of polyphenols and their human and microbial metabolites, including the production of metabolites that activate protective molecular mechanisms, as well as the regression of potentially toxic metabolites.

Our research is based on clinical and dietary intervention studies with humans, both patients and healthy individuals, to test specific hypotheses, and we have extensive experience in the development of model systems that simulate human digestive function, notably our involvement in the Dynamic Gastrointestinal Simulator Platform (simgi®) as a gastrointestinal digestion service used by numerous research groups and companies. The combination with preclinical models allows us to evaluate plausible mechanisms and provide key insights into biological, physiological and pathological processes. In the laboratory we use the latest technologies in massive sequencing, metabolomics and other nucleic acid and metabolite-based omics techniques and associated bioinformatics, which we apply in both in vitro and in vivo platforms.

Highlighted publications

• Taladrid, D.; González de Llano, D.; Zorraquín-Peña, I.; Tamargo, A.; Silva, M.; Molinero, N.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V.; Bartolomé, B. Gastrointestinal Digestion of a Grape Pomace Extract: Impact on Intestinal Barrier Permeability and Interaction with Gut Microbiome. Nutrients, 2021, 13, 2467, https://org/10.3390/nu13072467
• Taladrid, D.; de Celis, M.; Belda, I.; Bartolomé, B.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. Hypertension- and glycaemia-lowering effects of a grape-pomace-derived seasoning in patients and healthy volunteers. Interplay with the gut microbiome. Food&Function, 2022, 13, 2068 – 2082, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1FO03942C
• Tamargo, A.; Cueva, C.; Taladrid, D.; Khoo, C.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V., Bartolomé, B.; González de Llano, D. Simulated gastrointestinal digestion of cranberry polyphenols under dynamic conditions. Impact on antiadhesive activity against uropathogenic bacteria. Food Chem., 2022, 368, 130871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130871
• Tamargo, A.; Molinero, N.; Reinosa, J.; Alcolea-Rodriguez, V.; Portela, R.; Bañares, MA.; Fernández JF; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. PET Microplastics Affect Human Gut Microbiota Communities During Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion. First Evidence of Plausible Polymer Biodegradation During Human Digestion. Sci. Reports, 2022, 12:528. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04489-w
• Taladrid, D.; Zorraquín-Peña, I.; Molinero, N.; Pajares, R.; Bartolomé, B.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. Polyphenols and ulcerative colitis: An exploratory study of the effects of moderate wine consumption on gut and oral microbiome in active-phase patients. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2022,66, 2101073. https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202101073
• González de Llano, D.; Roldán, M.; Parro, L.; Bartolomé, B.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. Activity of microbial-derived phenolic acids and their  conjugates against LPS-induced damage in neuroblastoma cells and  macrophages, Metabolites, 2023, 13, 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13010108

Recent Research Projects

Dotación y mejora del Simulador Gastrointestinal Dinámico-simgi®: simgi® 2.0

• Entidad financiadora y referencia: MCIN, PROYECTO EQC2019-005402-P
• Duración: 2020-2022
• I.P. M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas

Relación entre el consumo de vino, la dieta y la modulación del microbioma en la enfermedad de Alzheimer en una cohorte de Madrid (España) (WineBrain-Up)

• Entidad financiadora y referencia: MCIN, PROYECTO PID2019-108851RB-C21
• Duración: 2020-2024
• I.P.: M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas; Begoña Bartolomé

Plastics fate and effects in the human body (PlasticsFatE)

• Referencia: EU H2020 SC1-BHC-36-2020 Project
• Duración: 2021-2025
• I.P. CSIC: M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas

Development and validation of a digitalised information system for the comprehensive assessment of dietary habits in population groups (integrALIMENTA)

• Referencia: MICINN; Prueba de Concepto PDC2022-133861-C21
• Duración: 2022-2024
• I.P. CSIC: M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas; Begoña Bartolomé

Innovative sustainable solutions for ready-to-eat traditional Mediterranean products and non-conventional healthy foods (InnoSol4Med)

• Referencia: EU H2020 PRIMA Section 2 Call multi-topics 2022
• Duración: 2023-2026
• I.P. CSIC: M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas

Recent Communication Activities

• Comic “Aventuras en el supermercado”
• Comic “En busca de los microplásticos”