Department of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 7;21(3):1109. doi: 10.3390/ijms21031109.
Various dietary phytochemicals seem to display antioxidant activity through the NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. However, few studies have demonstrated its antioxidant effect and Nrf2 dependency at the animal level. We constructed a zebrafish-based assay system to analyze the in vivo antioxidant activity of phytochemicals and examined the activity of 10 phytochemicals derived from spices, using this system as a pilot study. Hydrogen peroxide and arsenite were used as oxidative stressors, and Nrf2 dependency was genetically analyzed using an Nrf2-mutant zebrafish line. The activities of curcumin, diallyl trisulfide and quercetin were involved in the reduction of hydrogen peroxide toxicity, while those of cinnamaldehyde, isoeugenol and 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate were involved in the reduction of arsenite toxicity. The antioxidant activities of these phytochemicals were all Nrf2 dependent, with the exception of cinnamaldehyde, which showed strong antioxidant effects even in Nrf2-mutant zebrafish. In summary, we succeeded in constructing an assay system to evaluate the in vivo antioxidant activity of various phytochemicals using zebrafish larvae. Using this system, we found that each spice-derived phytochemical has its own specific property and mechanism of antioxidant action.
各种膳食植物化学物质似乎通过 NF-E2 相关因子 2（Nrf2）途径显示出抗氧化活性。然而，很少有研究在动物水平上证明其抗氧化作用和 Nrf2 的依赖性。我们构建了一个基于斑马鱼的分析系统，以分析植物化学物质的体内抗氧化活性，并使用该系统作为初步研究，检查了 10 种源自香料的植物化学物质的活性。过氧化氢和亚砷酸盐被用作氧化应激物，使用 Nrf2 突变型斑马鱼系进行遗传分析 Nrf2 的依赖性。姜黄素、二烯丙基三硫化物和槲皮素的活性参与了过氧化氢毒性的降低，而肉桂醛、异丁香酚和 6-(甲硫基)己基异硫氰酸酯的活性参与了亚砷酸盐毒性的降低。除了肉桂醛外，这些植物化学物质的抗氧化活性均依赖于 Nrf2，肉桂醛即使在 Nrf2 突变型斑马鱼中也表现出很强的抗氧化作用。总之，我们成功地构建了一个使用斑马鱼幼虫评估各种植物化学物质体内抗氧化活性的分析系统。使用该系统，我们发现每种源自香料的植物化学物质都具有其自身特定的抗氧化作用机制和特性。
