3.7 Sulforaphane
Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate, which is produced by the conversion
of glucoraphanin through the enzyme myrosinase (Vanduchova, Anzenbacher,
& Anzenbacherova, 2019). Sulforaphane, a potent antioxidant, is
primarily found in several Brassicaceae vegetables, such as broccoli,
cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Sulforaphane has often been
shown to protect cells from oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes and
neural cells (Guerrero-Beltran, Calderon-Oliver, Pedraza-Chaverri, &
Chirino, 2012). The nuclear
factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a basic leucine zipper
transcription factor that serves as a defense mechanism against
oxidative stress, has been shown to be activated by sulforaphane (Bai et
al., 2015; Houghton, Fassett, & Coombes, 2016). SIRT1 is a potential
target gene of miR-34a (M, M, & CJ, 2008) and the role of the
miR-34a/SIRT1 axis in oxidative stress-induced cellular damage has been
demonstrated (Y. Guo et al., 2017). Sulforaphane was found to protect
endothelial cells from oxidative stress by regulating the miR-34a/SIRT1
axis through upregulation of Nrf2 (T. Li et al., 2021). In addition, a
study found that sulforaphane can reduce lipopolysaccharide-induced cell
damage and oxidative stress by inhibiting miR-155 in microglia (Eren et
al., 2018). MiR-155 was proved to aggravate the carotid atherosclerotic
lesion through induction of endothelial cell apoptosis and activation of
inflammasome in macrophages (R. Yin et al., 2019). Therefore, it is
possible that sulforaphane may limit the formation of atherosclerotic
lesions by inhibiting miR-155, but clearly, more studies are needed to
confirm this hypothesis.