Bioavailability, Human Metabolism, and Dietary Interventions of Glucosinolates and Isothiocyanates: Critical Insights and Future Perspectives.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing human metabolism and clinical evidence without systematic review methodology
PubMed 40870788 · doi:10.3390/foods14162876
What was done
This narrative review synthesized human clinical evidence on glucosinolates (GSLs) and their bioactive breakdown products, isothiocyanates (ITCs). The authors examined enzymatic and gut microbial metabolism, bioavailability challenges, and findings from dietary interventions using whole vegetables, sprouts, and extracts targeting pathways including Nrf2 and NF-κB.
What was found
The abstract reports that interventions using GSLs and ITCs have shown promising effects on blood pressure, lipid profiles, and glycaemic control. However, the abstract does not provide specific numerical results or effect sizes.
Why it matters
Understanding the metabolic fate and bioavailability of cruciferous bioactives is critical for determining whether dietary intake can reliably translate into therapeutic or preventive health benefits.
Limits
This is a narrative review rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis, and no quantitative data synthesis is reported. The underlying clinical literature is noted to suffer from small sample sizes, study heterogeneity, formulation differences, tolerability issues, inconsistent biomarkers, and substantial inter-individual variability driven by host metabolism and the gut microbiota.
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