Nutrition for Gut Barrier Health

Nutrients aid repair and maintain the integrity of the layers of the gastrointestinal tract. The gut barrier consists of many layers including endothelial and immune cells, protective mucus and the gut microbiome.

Zinc carnosine enhances intestinal barrier function, protection and repair and may assist in reducing gastric ulceration and inflammation.[1]

Vitamin D modulates the gut microbiome,[2] regulates the immune response (controlling inflammation), and maintains intestinal barrier integrity. [3,4]

Vitamin K2 is important for intestinal mucosal defence and homeostasis of the gut microbiome.[5,6]

Hesperidin exerts antioxidant,[7] anti-inflammatory,[8] immunomodulatory and prebiotic effects on the gut, aiding crosstalk between the gut microbiota and intestinal immune tissue.

[1] Efthymakis K, Neri M. The role of zinc L-carnosine in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal mucosal disease in humans: a review. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol. 2022;46(7):101954. DOI: 10.1016/j.clinre.2022.101954

[2] Charoenngam N, et al. The effect of various doses of oral vitamin D3 supplementation on gut microbiota in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blinded, dose-response study. anticancer res. 2020 Jan;40(1):551-556. DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.13984

[3] Arababadi MK, Nosratabadi R, Asadikaram G. Vitamin D and toll like receptors. Life Sci. 2018 Jun;203:105-111.

[4] Charoenngam N, Holick MF. Immunologic effects of vitamin D on human health and disease. Nutrients. 2020 Jul;12(7):2097. DOI: 10.3390/nu12072097

[5] Noda S, et al. Menaquinone-4 (vitamin K2) up-regulates expression of human intestinal alkaline phosphatase in Caco-2 cells. Nutr Res. 2016 Nov;36(11):1269-1276. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2016.10.001

[6] Zhang Y, et al. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves impaired glycemic homeostasis and insulin sensitivity for type 2 diabetes through gut microbiome and fecal metabolites. BMC Med. 2023 May;21(1):174. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-023-02880-0

[7] Da Silva LM, et al. Hesperidin, a citrus flavanone glycoside, accelerates the gastric healing process of acetic acid-induced ulcer in rats. Chem Biol Interact. 2019 Aug;308:45-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2019.05.011

[8] Guo K, et al. Hesperidin protects against intestinal inflammation by restoring intestinal barrier function and up-regulating Treg cells. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2019 Jun;63(11):e1800975. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201800975