Emerging Promise of Sulforaphane in Autism: A Comprehensive Review of Its Therapeutic Potential and Mechanisms.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of mechanisms with no new clinical data or systematic review methodology.
PubMed 42473985 · doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.6c00282
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on the therapeutic potential and biological pathways of sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate abundant in cruciferous vegetables, for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
What was found
The abstract reports no primary experimental or clinical data and no numerical results. The authors identified seven signaling pathways through which sulforaphane is proposed to exert neuroprotective or therapeutic effects in ASD: Keap1/Nrf2/ARE, MAPKs, NF-κB, HSR, AhR/CYP1, Sirtuin-FOXO, and mTOR/autophagy.
Why it matters
Targeted pharmacological options for ASD are lacking, and mapping sulforaphane's proposed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways provides a biological foundation for evaluating it in future translational and clinical research.
Limits
This is a narrative review without systematic search methodology or primary empirical human data. The abstract provides no quantitative effect sizes, clinical efficacy data, dosing parameters, or participant numbers.
Cited by
- supports Sulforaphane targets and modulates the mTOR signaling pathway.