Dietary Heme Influence on Colorectal Health

Dietary heme, the iron‐containing pigment in red and processed meats, profoundly influences colorectal health through multiple interrelated pathways. In the gut lumen, free heme catalyses lipid peroxidation, generating reactive aldehydes and reactive oxygen species that injure the mucosal barrier and DNA in epithelial cells. Concurrently, luminal heme fosters shifts in microbial communities—dysbiosis—characterised by reduced diversity, expansion of Proteobacteria and depletion of beneficial anaerobes. These changes compromise barrier integrity, trigger chronic inflammation and promote hyperproliferation of crypt cells, laying the groundwork for adenoma formation and colorectal cancer. Host responses, including induction of detoxifying enzymes such as heme oxygenase-1, may mitigate heme‐induced oxidative damage. Nutritional and microbial interventions—ranging from calcium co-supplementation to targeted probiotics—offer promising strategies to neutralise luminal heme, restore homeostasis and reduce carcinogenic risk.

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Dietary Heme Influence on Colorectal Health publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in dietary heme influence on colorectal health across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Heme (Haem): An iron‐porphyrin complex abundant in red meat that catalyses oxidative reactions within the gut lumen.

Lipid peroxidation: Oxidative degradation of lipids by reactive oxygen species, leading to formation of cytotoxic aldehydes.

Dysbiosis: An imbalance in the gut microbial community, often marked by reduced diversity and overgrowth of pathobionts.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules containing oxygen that can damage DNA, proteins and lipids.

Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI): An epithelial‐derived protease inhibitor whose upregulation can drive pro‐tumourigenic signalling via MAPK activation.

References

1. Dietary iron modulates gut microbiota and induces SLPI secretion to promote colorectal tumorigenesis. Gut Microbes (2023).
2. Calcium-rich dairy matrix protects better than mineral calcium against colonic luminal haem-induced alterations in male rats. npj Science of Food (2024).
3. Exploring the impact of myoglobin from red meat on intestinal function: Insights from mouse and cell models. Food Frontiers (2024).
4. Dietary Heme Induces Gut Dysbiosis, Aggravates Colitis, and Potentiates the Development of Adenomas in Mice. Frontiers in Microbiology (2017).
5. Haem iron reshapes colonic luminal environment: impact on mucosal homeostasis and microbiome through aldehyde formation. Microbiome (2019).
6. Heme oxygenase 1 protects human colonocytes against ROS formation, oxidative DNA damage and cytotoxicity induced by heme iron, but not inorganic iron. Cell Death & Disease (2020).
7. Chronic intestinal inflammation drives colorectal tumor formation triggered by dietary heme iron in vivo. Archives of Toxicology (2021).