Plant Polyphenols-Biofortified Foods as a Novel Tool for the Prevention of Human Gut Diseases

Plant food biofortification is recently receiving remarkable attention, as it aims to increasethe intake of minerals, vitamins, or antioxidants, crucial for their contribution to the general humanhealth status and disease prevention. In this context, the study of the plant's secondary metabolites,such as polyphenols, plays a pivotal role for the development of a new generation of plant crops,compensating, at least in part, the low nutritional quality ofWestern diets with a higher quality ofdietary sources. Due to the prevalent immunomodulatory activity at the intestinal level, polyphenolsrepresent a nutritionally relevant class of plant secondary metabolites. In this review, we focus onthe antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of dierent classes of polyphenols with a specificattention to their potential in the prevention of intestinal pathological processes. We also discussthe latest biotechnology strategies and new advances of genomic techniques as a helpful tool forpolyphenols biofortification and the development of novel, healthy dietary alternatives that cancontribute to the prevention of inflammatory bowel diseases.