Vol.:(0123456789) Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-025-10751-8 REVIEW A Review on Functional Foods Regulate the Gut Microbiota and Mast Cell Function in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Arumugam Vignesh 1  · Thomas Cheeran Amal 2  · Raya Soltane 3  · Lienda Bashier Eltayeb 4  · Krishna Kumar Yadav 5,6 Received: 3 June 2025 / Accepted: 27 August 2025 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025 Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition characterised by intestinal inflammation driven by dysbiosis and immune dysfunction. Conventional therapies often have significant side effects, necessitating safer alternatives. This review explores the potential of functional foods as adjunctive therapies for IBD management. Functional foods, including prebiotics, probiotics, polyphenols, and omega-3 fatty acids, exhibit anti-inflammatory properties through various mechanisms. Prebiot- ics and probiotics modulate the gut microbiome, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory metabolites. Polyphenols possess antioxidant and mast cell stabilising properties, while omega-3 fatty acids suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines. These foods can synergistically restore microbial balance, improve gut barrier function, and modulate immune responses, including reducing mast cell degranulation. Moreover, they addresses critical factors influencing their therapeutic potential, such as optimal functional food doses, bioavailability, and individual variation in response. Practical barriers to the clinical integration of functional foods, such as formulation stability, patient adherence, and regulatory constraints, are also discussed. Moreover, this review highlights the potential of dietary interventions in managing IBD by reducing reliance on medications and improving patient outcomes. However, further research is crucial to optimise the clinical application of functional foods in IBD management and to fully understand their mechanisms of action. Keywords Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) · Gut microbiota · Mast cells · Functional foods · Inflammation · Dietary interventions Introduction Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, encompassing disorders such as Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) [1]. IBD is characterised by persistent and relapsing inflammation, leading to debilitating symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and weight loss. It was tradition- ally a disease of Western Countries; collectively, in 2023, there were more than 6.8 million people were estimated to be living with IBD worldwide [2]. The rapid increase of IBD in the incidence and prevalence of IBD in the newly indus- trialised nations of Asia over the last two decades has been attributed to environmental factors, including the increased adoption of Westernised lifestyles [3]. Especially, in India (0.55 million) and China (0.65 million), people Living with IBD are rapidly increasing every year by 0.8% and 0.7% [4]. The burden of IBD extends beyond physical symptoms, impacting patients’ quality of life and imposing significant healthcare costs. The aetiology of IBD is complex and * Arumugam Vignesh arumugamvignesh@ngmc.org 1 Department of Botany, NGM College (Autonomous), Tamil Nadu, Pollachi 642 001, India 2 ICAR - Central Institute for Cotton Research, RS, Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore 641 003, India 3 Department of Biology, Adham University College, Umm Al-Qura University, 21955 Makkah, Saudi Arabia 4 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin AbdulAziz University- Al-Kharj, 11942 Riyadh, KSA, Saudi Arabia 5 Department of Environmental Science, Parul Institute of Applied Sciences, Parul University, Vadodara, Gujarat 391760, India 6 Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences Research Group, Scientific Research Center, Al-Ayen University, Nasiriyah, Thi-Qar, Iraq