Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
Occupational & Environmental Department, Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, 250014, China.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2019 Feb;63(3):e1801029. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201801029. Epub 2018 Nov 22.
Cruciferous vegetable consumption is associated with favorable health outcomes. Bioactive compounds arising in these, especially isothiocyanates, exert effects that contribute to prevention of disease, in large part through the attenuation of inflammation and oxidative stress. However, much about isothiocyanate metabolites and their role as biomarkers of crucifer intake remain unknown.
The utility and limitations of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA) as a urinary biomarker of broccoli beverage intake are tested in a randomized crossover clinical trial where 50 participants consumed either a glucoraphanin-rich (GRR) or sulforaphane-rich (SFR) beverage. Compared to run-in and wash-out periods, significantly higher urinary TTCA is observed after broccoli beverage consumption. Measurements also show that TTCA is present in beverage powders and in all tested cruciferous vegetables. GRR results in excretion of ≈87% of the ingested TTCA while SFR results in excretion of ≈176%. Elevated urinary TTCA is observed in rats administered 100 µmol kg SFN. Unlike SFN, TTCA does not activate Nrf2-mediated cytoprotective signaling.
Collectively, TTCA appears to be a common isothiocyanate-derived metabolite that has the capacity to be utilized as a biomarker of cruciferous vegetables that would be beneficial for objective and quantitative tracking of intake in studies.
十字花科蔬菜的消费与良好的健康结果有关。这些蔬菜中产生的生物活性化合物，特别是异硫氰酸酯，通过减轻炎症和氧化应激，对疾病的预防产生影响。然而，关于异硫氰酸酯代谢物及其作为十字花科蔬菜摄入量生物标志物的作用，仍有许多未知之处。
在一项随机交叉临床试验中，测试了 2-硫代噻唑烷-4-羧酸（TTCA）作为西兰花饮料摄入量的尿液生物标志物的实用性和局限性，共有 50 名参与者分别饮用富含萝卜硫素（GRR）或富含萝卜硫苷（SFR）的饮料。与运行期和冲洗期相比，在饮用西兰花饮料后，尿液中的 TTCA 明显升高。测量结果还表明，TTCA 存在于饮料粉和所有测试的十字花科蔬菜中。GRR 导致摄入的 TTCA 约 87%被排泄，而 SFR 导致摄入的 TTCA 约 176%被排泄。给大鼠施用 100µmolkgSFN 后，可观察到尿液中 TTCA 升高。与 SFN 不同，TTCA 不会激活 Nrf2 介导的细胞保护信号。
总的来说，TTCA 似乎是一种常见的异硫氰酸酯衍生代谢物，有潜力作为十字花科蔬菜的生物标志物，这将有利于在研究中对摄入量进行客观和定量的跟踪。
