Fermín Mar-Aguilar et al.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding, single-strand RNA molecules that act as regulators of gene expression in plants and animals. In 2012, the first evidence was found that plant miRNAs could enter the bloodstream through the digestive tract. Since then, there has been an ongoing discussion about whether miRNAs from the diet are transferred to blood, accumulate in tissues, and regulate gene expression … Here, we review the evidence for and against the transfer of diet-derived miRNAs from plants, meat, milk and exosome and their assimilation and putative molecular regulation role in the consuming organism … Regardless of the model organism, the idea of source of miRNAs, or the approach—bioinformatics or in vivo—the issue of transfer of miRNAs from the diet remains in doubt.