<i>Lactiplantibacillus\nplantarum</i> Interstrain\nVariability in the Production of Bioactive Phenolic Metabolites from\nFlavan-3-ols

Flavan-3-ols intake is associated with numerous health\nbenefits,\nbut these are influenced by their conversion into smaller phenolic\nmetabolites by the gut microbiota. Thus, the identification of bacteria\nthat metabolize flavan-3-ols could lead to targeted interventions\nto enhance their benefits. To this end, we screened 47 <i>Lactiplantibacillus\nplantarum</i> strains for their ability to metabolize (+)-catechin,\na flavan-3-ol. Then, we assessed these strains for their capacity\nto convert various flavan-3-ol structures. Out of the 47 isolates,\n12 released 3-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-propan-2-ol\n(a form of diphenylpropan-2-ol) from (+)-catechin. All strains metabolized\n(+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, (−)-epigallocatechin,\nbut only a subset transformed (−)-gallocatechin. Among these\nsimple flavan-3-ol structures, (−)-epicatechin was metabolized\nthe most. A hierarchical cluster analysis identified two groups of\nflavan-3-ol-metabolizing strains categorized as having “high”\nand “low” production of diphenylpropan-2-ols. Notably,\nthe strains that produced higher levels of diphenylpropan-2-ol from\n(+)-gallocatechin and (+)-catechin also performed better with a camu–camu\nextract, which was studied as a complex source of flavan-3-ols and\npredominantly contained these two flavan-3-ols. These results demonstrate\nthe interstrain variability in <i>L. plantarum</i> metabolism,\nwhich may be useful for developing tailored formulations to enhance\nthe production of flavan-3-ols bioactive metabolites.