A Physiological-Based Model for Simulating the Bioavailability and Kinetics of Sulforaphane from Broccoli Products.

Quchat Shekarri,Matthijs Dekker

doi:10.3390/foods10112761

Abstract

There are no known physiological-based digestion models that depict glucoraphanin (GR) to sulforaphane (SR) conversion and subsequent absorption. The aim of this research was to make a physiological-based digestion model that includes SR formation, both by endogenous myrosinase and gut bacterial enzymes, and to simulate the SR bioavailability. An 18-compartment model (mouth, two stomach, seven small intestine, seven large intestine, and blood compartments) describing transit, reactions and absorption was made. The model, consisting of differential equations, was fit to data from a human intervention study using Mathwork’s Simulink and Matlab software. SR urine metabolite data from participants who consumed different broccoli products were used to estimate several model parameters and validate the model. The products had high, medium, low, and zero myrosinase content. The model’s predicted values fit the experimental values very well. Parity plots showed that the predicted values closely matched experimental values for the high (r2 = 0.95), and low (r2 = 0.93) products, but less so for the medium (r2 = 0.85) and zero (r2 = 0.78) myrosinase products. This is the first physiological-based model to depict the unique bioconversion processes of bioactive SR from broccoli. This model represents a preliminary step in creating a predictive model for the biological effect of SR, which can be used in the growing field of personalized nutrition.

Highlights

To determine the bioavailability of bioactive compounds in foods, it is important to know its composition, structure, how it interacts with other food components, and its fate in the human body after being ingested
Glucoraphanin is converted to SR by plant endogenous myrosinase (MYR), a β-thioglucosidase hydrolase that catalyzes the removal of glucose to form an O-sulfated thiohydroximate intermediate (Figure 1)
The objective of this study was to make a physiological-based model that describes the kinetics and bioavailability of isothiocyanates from broccoli and to evaluate how the derived parameters are impacted by inter-individual variation

Summary

Introduction

To determine the bioavailability of bioactive compounds in foods, it is important to know its composition, structure, how it interacts with other food components, and its fate in the human body after being ingested. Isothiocyanates (ITC) are formed from precursors, glucosinolates (GL), which are found in broccoli and other types of brassica vegetables [1]. Sulforaphane’s health benefits have resulted in studies that investigated the physiological mechanisms involved in digesting plants that contain SR, and SR’s absorption, metabolism, and excretion [3,4]. Glucoraphanin is converted to SR by plant endogenous myrosinase (MYR), a β-thioglucosidase hydrolase that catalyzes the removal of glucose to form an O-sulfated thiohydroximate intermediate (Figure 1). GLs and MYR are stored in separate compartments in the broccoli plant cells. From processing (chopping, blanching, powdering etc.), mastication, or plant bruising, is required before MYR can bind GL to facilitate ITC formation [5]. Transfer through the stomach, SR is absorbed in the intestinal tract into the blood, distributed to various organs before it is eliminated from the body, mainly via renal excretion [15]

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Conclusion