Postprandial Responses of Serum Bile Acids in Healthy Humans After Ingestion of Turmeric Before Medium /High‐Fat Breakfasts

Scope: Bile acids (BAs) are known to regulate a number of metabolic activities in the body. However, very little is known about how BAs are affected by diet. This study aimed to investigate whether a single-dose of turmeric-based beverage (TUR) before ingestion of medium- (MF) or high-fat (HF) breakfasts would improve the BA profile in healthy subjects. Methods and results: Twelve healthy subjects were assigned to a randomized crossover single-blind study. The subjects received iso-caloric MF or HF breakfasts after a drink containing flavored water with or without an extract of turmeric with at least one-week wash-out period between the treatments. Postprandial BAs were measured using protein precipitation followed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (UHPLC-MS). The concentration of BAs was generally higher after HF than MF breakfasts. Ingestion of TUR before MF breakfast increased the serum concentrations of free and conjugated forms of cholic and ursodeoxycholic acids, as well as the concentrations of chenodeoxycholic acid and its taurine-conjugated form. However, the concentration of conjugated forms of deoxycholic acid decreased when TUR was taken before HF breakfast. Conclusion: TUR ingestion before MF and HF breakfasts improved BA profiles and may therefore have potential health-promoting effects on BA metabolism.