Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism

This article is part of the Research TopicFunctional Foods for Metabolic HealthView all 33 articles

Impact of the flavonoid-induced intestinal microbiota modulation on global energy metabolism: implication for obesity

Provisionally accepted
Omar Guzmán-QuevedoOmar Guzmán-Quevedo1*Alana AraújoAlana Araújo2Pedro A. Romero-JuárezPedro A. Romero-Juárez3Jordania Candice Costa SilvaJordania Candice Costa Silva2Gonzalo Soria-MelgarejoGonzalo Soria-Melgarejo4Luz TornerLuz Torner5Jailane de Souza AquinoJailane de Souza Aquino2*
  • 1Tecnológico Nacional de México (TECNM) / Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tacámbaro, Tacámbaro, Mexico
  • 2Universidade Federal da Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
  • 3Laboratory of Experimental Neuronutrition and Food Engineering, Higher Technological Institute of Tacambaro, Tacambaro, Mexico
  • 4Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Puruandiro, Puruándiro, Mexico
  • 5Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Michaocán / Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Morelia, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Select one of your emails

You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:

Notify me on publication

Please enter your email address:

If you already have an account, please login

You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here

Evidence from the literature clearly demonstrates the beneficial effects of flavonoids on energy metabolism. Due to this, they have become important candidates for combating metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes. Intestinal microbiota (IM) has shown similar effects on metabolic regulation, contributing to host health. Several studies have shown concomitant effects on metabolism and intestinal microbial profile in response to flavonoid-based treatments. However, the role of the bidirectional interaction between IM and flavonoids in the metabolic effects of these organic compounds is less well established. This review discusses the effects of flavonoids on the IM in regulating energy homeostasis in metabolically relevant tissues, including skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, and hypothalamus. The modulation of the gut microbiota by dietary flavonoids and vice versa is also discussed. Understanding the contribution of each actor in this interaction, as well as their mechanisms of action, can help design dietary and nutritional strategies to combat metabolic disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Keywords: Energy Metabolism, Flavonoids, Inflammation, intestinal microbiota, Obesity

Received: 31 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Guzmán-Quevedo, Araújo, Romero-Juárez, Costa Silva, Soria-Melgarejo, Torner and de Souza Aquino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Omar Guzmán-Quevedo
Jailane de Souza Aquino

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material