The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Sciences
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1497566
Glucoraphanin conversion into sulforaphane and related compounds by gut microbiota
Provisionally accepted- Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine
Glucosinolate glucoraphanin, common in cruciferous vegetables, is a biologically stable precursor of isothiocyanates, such as sulforaphane and erucin, potent activators of Nrf2 signaling coordinating an adaptive response to oxidative stress. Sulforaphane is formed by the hydrolysis of glucoraphanin by a plant enzyme called myrosinase, which is inactivated in the stomach of mammals. Since the latter do not have enzymes possessing myrosinase-like activity, glucoraphanin can be metabolized by the gut microbiota, to sulforaphane, sulforaphane-nitrile, glucoerucin, erucin, and erucin-nitrile. Emerging evidence suggests that variations in gut microbiota composition significantly influence the efficiency and outcome of glucoraphanin metabolism, while sulforaphane itself may reciprocally modulate gut microbiota composition and functionality. This review examines the bidirectional interactions between glucoraphanin, sulforaphane, and gut microbiota. We assume that sulforaphane alleviates intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress maintaining intestinal homeostasis and gut barrier integrity. Besides, the role of sulforaphane in breaking the vicious cycle of oxidative stress and gut dysbiosis is reported, demonstrating the potential of dietary isothiocyanates to support gut barrier function.
Keywords: Glucoraphanin, Gut Microbiota, Nrf2, Oxidative Stress, Sulforaphane
Received: 17 Sep 2024; Accepted: 22 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lushchak, Dmytriv and Lushchak. 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:
Volodymyr I Lushchak, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine
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.