Interactions between Gut Microbiota and Polyphenols: New Insights into the Treatment of Fatigue

Fatigue seriously affects people’s work efficiency and quality of life and has become a common health problem in modern societies around the world. The pathophysiology of fatigue is complex and not fully clear. To some degree, interactions between gut microbiota and host may be the cause of fatigue progression. Polyphenols such as tannin, tea polyphenols, curcumin, and soybean isoflavones relieve fatigue significantly. Studies have shown that the gut microbiota is able to convert these active compounds into more active metabolites through intestinal fermentation. However, the mechanism of anti-fatigue polyphenols is currently mainly analyzed from the perspective of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and changes in gut microbiota are rarely considered. This review focuses on gut microecology and systematically summarizes the latest theoretical and research findings on the interaction of gut microbiota, fatigue, and polyphenols. First, we outline the relationship between gut microbiota and fatigue, including changes in the gut microbiota during fatigue and how they interact with the host. Next, we describe the interactions between the gut microbiota and polyphenols in fatigue treatment (regulation of the gut microbiota by polyphenols and metabolism of polyphenols by the gut microbiota), and how the importance of potential active metabolites (such as urolithin) produced by the decomposition of polyphenols by gut microbiota is emerging. Based on the new perspective of gut microbiota, this review provides interesting insights into the mechanism of polyphenols in fatigue treatment and clarifies the potential of polyphenols as targets for anti-fatigue product development, aiming to provide a useful basis for further research and design.