Cytoprotective enzyme activities, induction

To better understand the health effects of plant phenolic compounds and to better utilize them, it is necessary to know the molecular mechanisms by which plant phenolic compounds induce cytoprotective enzymes. In vitro studies indicated that plant phenolic compounds such as curcumin often inhibited the enzymatic activities of GST, UGT, SULT as well as cytochrome P450s [Oetari et al., 1996], suggesting that the induction of cytoprotective enzyme activities could not be explained by direct interaction with plant phenolic compounds. On the other hand, much evidence indicates that the increased activity of cytoprotective enzymes are mainly attributable to enhanced transcriptional activation and enzyme synthesis [Holtzclaw et al., 2004]. 

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