Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk

Agulló, Vicente; Favari, Claudia; Pilla, Niccolò; Bresciani, Letizia; Tomás-Barberán, Francisco A.; Crozier, Alan; Del Rio, Daniele; Mena, Pedro

doi:10.3390/ijms25084536

Open AccessArticle

Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk

by

Vicente Agulló

^1,*

,

Claudia Favari

¹

,

Niccolò Pilla

¹,

Letizia Bresciani

¹

,

Francisco A. Tomás-Barberán

²

,

Alan Crozier

^3,4,

Daniele Del Rio

^1,5

and

Pedro Mena

^1,5,*

¹

Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Food & Drug, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy

²

Quality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods Research Group, Laboratory of Food & Health, CEBAS–CSIC, Espinardo P.O. Box 164, 30100 Murcia, Spain

³

Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

⁴

School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK

⁵

Microbiome Research Hub, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(8), 4536; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084536

Submission received: 24 March 2024 / Revised: 16 April 2024 / Accepted: 17 April 2024 / Published: 20 April 2024

(This article belongs to the Collection Omics Perspective to Unravel the Functionalities and Biological Traits of Plant-Based Foods and By-Products)

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Abstract

Milk holds a high nutritional value and is associated with diverse health benefits. The understanding of its composition of (poly)phenolic metabolites is limited, which necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of the subject. This study aimed at analyzing the (poly)phenolic profile of commercial milk samples from cows and goats and investigating their sterilization treatments, fat content, and lactose content. Fingerprinting of phenolic metabolites was achieved by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). Two hundred and three potential microbial and phase II metabolites of the main dietary (poly)phenols were targeted. Twenty-five metabolites were identified, revealing a diverse array of phenolic metabolites in milk, including isoflavones and their microbial catabolites equol and O-desmethylangolensin, phenyl-γ-valerolactones (flavan-3-ol microbial catabolites), enterolignans, urolithins (ellagitannin microbial catabolites), benzene diols, and hippuric acid derivates. Goat’s milk contained higher concentrations of these metabolites than cow’s milk, while the sterilization process and milk composition (fat and lactose content) had minimal impact on the metabolite profiles. Thus, the consumption of goat’s milk might serve as a potential means to supplement bioactive phenolic metabolites, especially in individuals with limited production capacity. However, further research is needed to elucidate the potential health effects of milk-derived phenolics.

Keywords: (poly)phenol; cow; goat; UHPLC-QqQ; inter-individual variability; dietary supplementation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Agulló, V.; Favari, C.; Pilla, N.; Bresciani, L.; Tomás-Barberán, F.A.; Crozier, A.; Del Rio, D.; Mena, P. Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 4536. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084536

AMA Style

Agulló V, Favari C, Pilla N, Bresciani L, Tomás-Barberán FA, Crozier A, Del Rio D, Mena P. Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024; 25(8):4536. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084536

Chicago/Turabian Style

Agulló, Vicente, Claudia Favari, Niccolò Pilla, Letizia Bresciani, Francisco A. Tomás-Barberán, Alan Crozier, Daniele Del Rio, and Pedro Mena. 2024. "Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25, no. 8: 4536. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084536

APA Style

Agulló, V., Favari, C., Pilla, N., Bresciani, L., Tomás-Barberán, F. A., Crozier, A., Del Rio, D., & Mena, P. (2024). Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(8), 4536. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084536

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Using Targeted Metabolomics to Unravel Phenolic Metabolites of Plant Origin in Animal Milk

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