Interactions among dietary phytochemicals and nutrients: Role of cell membranes

The health effects of dietary phytochemicals (eg., carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids) and their interactions with each other or nutrients (eg., carbohydrate, proteins, lipids, micronutrients) have widely been used in drug therapy studies. Most research contributions on the interactions among phytochemicals are based on their direct interactions in cells or the digestive tract without considering the influence of cell membranes. Due to the amphiphilic properties and unique structure, cell membranes could interact with phytochemicals which have different polarity characteristics (hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties). An updated summary on this area is of urgent to fill the knowledge gap in the exploitation of the interactions among dietary phytochemicals and nutrients based on cell membrane processing benefits of functional foods formulation. This review primarily described the absorption process of several daily consumed phytochemicals and their effects on the cell membrane structure. The effects of phytochemicals on the transporters/receptors in cell membranes are also explained. Besides, the role of cell membranes on the interaction between phytochemicals and other nutrients are described. Finally, the future research and outlook on functional foods aspect were prospected. In general, this study demonstrated that phytochemicals could affect the cell membrane structure and expression of transporters/receptors, thus regulating the absorption of phytochemicals and leading to different interactions (synergistic, antagonistic, additive effect) in the food matrix.