啤酒化合物-黄腐酚或可帮助抵御阿尔兹海默氏症及帕金森疾病

  近年来，葡萄酒可以促进人类机体健康的说法得到了很多科学家的证实，而且研究者也在不断致力去研究这一领域，与此同时他们却忽略了啤酒对人类健康的作用，近日一篇发表于国际杂志Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry上的研究论文中，来自中国兰州大学等处的研究人员通过研究发现，啤酒花中的化合物或可帮助保护个体大脑细胞免于损伤，从而有效减缓个体患阿尔兹海默氏症和帕金森疾病。

  研究者Jianguo Fang说道，越来越多的证据显示，神经细胞的氧化性损伤或会引发大脑相关疾病的发生，如果科学家们寻找到一种可以保护大脑细胞免于氧化性损伤的方法，那么或许会帮助个体抵御阿尔兹海默氏症、帕金森疾病及其它神经变性疾病。

  文章中，研究者在啤酒花中发现的名为黄腐酚(Xanthohumol)的化合物，其具有潜在的有益作用，包括抗氧化作用、保护心血管及具有一定的抗癌特性；为此研究人员决定检测黄腐酚对大脑细胞的作用。

  实验室研究结果显示，黄腐酚可以保护神经细胞，并且潜在帮助机体减缓大脑疾病障碍的发生；由此可见黄腐酚或许是一种潜在的药物靶点来帮助开发抵御神经变性疾病的新型疗法。研究者希望后期可以进行更多的研究来清楚地解析黄腐酚的具体作用机制。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）

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转化医学网推荐的原文摘要：

Xanthohumol, a Polyphenol Chalcone Present in Hops, Activating Nrf2 Enzymes To Confer Protection against Oxidative Damage in PC12 Cells
J. Agric. Food Chem DOI: 10.1021/jf505075n
Juan Yao , Baoxin Zhang , Chunpo Ge , Shoujiao Peng , and Jianguo Fang *
Xanthohumol (2′,4′,4-trihydroxy-6′-methoxy-3′-prenylchalcone, Xn), a polyphenol chalcone from hops (Humulus lupulus), has received increasing attention due to its multiple pharmacological activities. As an active component in beers, its presence has been suggested to be linked to the epidemiological observation of the beneficial effect of regular beer drinking. In this work, we synthesized Xn with a total yield of 5.0% in seven steps and studied its neuroprotective function against oxidative-stress-induced neuronal cell damage in the neuronlike rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12. Xn displays moderate free-radical-scavenging capacity in vitro. More importantly, pretreatment of PC12 cells with Xn at submicromolar concentrations significantly upregulates a panel of phase II cytoprotective genes as well as the corresponding gene products, such as glutathione, heme oxygenase, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, thioredoxin, and thioredoxin reductase. A mechanistic study indicates that the α,β-unsaturated ketone structure in Xn and activation of the transcription factor Nrf2 are key determinants for the cytoprotection of Xn. Targeting the Nrf2 by Xn discloses a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying the biological action of Xn. Our results demonstrate that Xn is a novel small-molecule activator of Nrf2 in neuronal cells and suggest that Xn might be a potential candidate for the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.