https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.56.04.18.5805

The Role of Vitamin D in Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Assessing Therapeutic and Preventive Potential of Supplementation and Food Fortification

Dunja Leskovar^1#, Tomislav Meštrović²*^#, Anja Barešić³, Ivana Kraljević⁴, Marina Panek¹, Hana Čipčić
Paljetak¹, Mihaela Perić¹, Mario Matijašić¹, Dunja Rogić⁴, Ana Barišić⁴, Dina Ljubas Kelečić⁴, Darija Vranešić Bender⁴, Željko Krznarić⁴ and Donatella Verbanac^1,5

¹University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 3, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
²Polyclinic “Dr. Zora Profozic”, Bosutska 19, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
³MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Du Cane Rd, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
⁴University Hospital Centre, Kišpaticeva 12, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
⁵University of Zagreb, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, A. Kovacica 1, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia

Article history:
Received: 16 April 2018
Accepted: 19 November 2018

Key words:
inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, vitamin D, gut microbiota, dysbiosis

Summary:
Inflammatory bowel diseases are a group of chronic inflammatory conditions that affect gastrointestinal tract due to inapt and continuous immune activation in response to a myriad of predisposing factors (most notably genetics, environmental impact and gut microbiota composition). It has been shown that vitamin D status can also play a role in the disease pathogenesis, as its deficiency is commonly observed in two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Mounting evidence supports the concept of intricate relationship between gut dysbiosis and vitamin D metabolism, while suboptimal levels of this vitamin have been linked to increased clinical disease relapse rates, inadequate response to drugs, as well as decreased quality of life in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Consequently, the pertinent question is whether increased vitamin D supplementation and (on a population level) food fortification may bring significant benefit to the affected individuals. In this short review we discuss the synthesis, functions, status and food sources of vitamin D, appraise biotechnological facets of vitamin D status analysis and food fortification, and concentrate on novel developments in the field that describe its influence on intestinal microbiota and inflammatory bowel disease.

*Corresponding author:    +38516112501
                                             +38516115651
                                             tomislav.mestrovic@gmail.com

^#These authors contributed equally to this work