Protective effects of sulforaphane against toxic substances and contaminants: A systematic review.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Systematic review synthesizing predominantly preclinical and mechanistic toxicological studies
PubMed 38824824 · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2024.155731
What was done
A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines searched ScienceDirect and PubMed for studies evaluating the protective effects and mechanisms of sulforaphane (SFN) against toxic substances across organ systems. The authors evaluated study quality, assessed bias, and synthesized the qualitative mechanistic findings.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical estimates or pooled effect sizes. SFN demonstrated protective effects across multiple systems, most prominently the liver and nervous system, as well as the lungs, heart, kidneys, immune system, and endocrine system. SFN counteracted toxicity by activating the Nrf2 pathway to boost antioxidant defenses, decreasing interleukin production to reduce inflammation, and inhibiting apoptosis via reduced caspase-3 cleavage and elevated Bcl-2 levels.
Why it matters
Synthesizes the broad organ-level and molecular mechanisms by which sulforaphane acts as a potential chemoprotective agent against diverse toxic insults.
Limits
The abstract reports no quantitative effect sizes, confidence intervals, or total number of included studies. The underlying evidence is primarily preclinical and mechanistic, and safe, effective therapeutic doses in humans remain undefined.
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