Faculty of Pharmacy and Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Curr Drug Targets. 2011 Aug;12(9):1351-63. doi: 10.2174/138945011796150334.
Until recently, nitrite has been considered a stable oxidation inert metabolite of nitric oxide ((∙)NO) metabolism. This view is now changing as it has been shown that nitrite can be reduced back to (∙)NO and thus one may consider a reversible interaction regarding (∙)NO:nitrite couple. Not only physiological regulatory actions have been assigned to nitrite but also may represent, in addition to nitrate, the largest (∙)NO reservoir in the body. This notion has obvious importance when considering that (∙)NO is a ubiquitous regulator of cell functions, ranging from neuromodulation to the regulation of vascular tone. Particularly in the stomach, following ingestion of nitrate and food or beverages-containing polyphenols, a rich chemistry occurs in which (∙)NO, (∙)NO-derived species and nitroso or nitrated derivatives may be formed. Most of these molecules may play an important role in vivo. For instance, it has been shown that polyphenol-catalyzed nitrite reduction to (∙)NO may induce local vasodilation and that ethanol (from wine) reacts with (∙)NO-derived species yielding nitroso derivatives endowed with (∙)NO-donating properties. Thus, this review reveals new pathways for the biological effects of dietary nitrite encompassing its interaction with dietary components (polyphenols, red wine, lipids), yielding products with impact on human physiology and pathology, namely cardiovascular, urinary and gastrointestinal systems. Novel therapeutic strategies are therefore expected to follow the elucidation of the mechanisms of nitrite biology.
直到最近，亚硝酸盐一直被认为是一氧化氮（(∙)NO）代谢的稳定氧化惰性代谢物。这种观点正在发生变化，因为已经表明亚硝酸盐可以被还原回(∙)NO，因此人们可以考虑关于(∙)NO:亚硝酸盐对的可逆相互作用。不仅赋予了亚硝酸盐生理调节作用，而且可能代表除硝酸盐以外，体内最大的(∙)NO 储库。当考虑到(∙)NO 是一种普遍存在的细胞功能调节剂时，这种观念具有明显的重要性，其范围从神经调节到血管张力的调节。特别是在胃中，摄入硝酸盐和含有多酚的食物或饮料后，会发生丰富的化学反应，其中可能形成(∙)NO、(∙)NO 衍生物种和亚硝酰基或硝化衍生物。这些分子中的大多数可能在体内发挥重要作用。例如，已经表明多酚催化的亚硝酸盐还原为(∙)NO 可能诱导局部血管扩张，并且乙醇（来自葡萄酒）与(∙)NO 衍生物种反应生成具有(∙)NO 供体性质的亚硝酰基衍生物。因此，本综述揭示了饮食亚硝酸盐的生物学效应的新途径，包括其与饮食成分（多酚、红酒、脂质）的相互作用，产生对人类生理学和病理学有影响的产物，即心血管、泌尿和胃肠道系统。因此，预计随着对亚硝酸盐生物学机制的阐明，将出现新的治疗策略。
