Inhibition of cytochrome P450 subfamilies 2E1, 2A6, & 2B4 using the Amazon acai berry, Euterpe oleracea

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Jonathan Stewart (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Gregory Raner

Abstract: The ability for cytochrome P450s to metabolize drugs and other compounds foreign to the body has led scientists to monitor the metabolites formed from the metabolic cycle of xenobiotics as they can prove potentially fatal if produced in large quantities. These by-products of P450 metabolism have been found to be the cause of the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS's) and their role in the up-regulation of cancer cells and denaturing of nucleic acids. The use of essential oils to slow down or inhibit P450s has shown some light on dietary restrictions while taking a drug regimen. Aldehydes are a main chemical constituent in essential oils and have been known to inhibit P450s. Inhibiting the catalytic cycle that P450s undertake prevents or slows the formation of toxic by-products. The amazon berry Euterpe oleracea, commonly known as the acai berry, has shown to have positive health benefits in people who make it part of their diet. Knowing that acai has potential antioxidant properties, the extraction of acai oil from freeze dried Euterpe oleracea was used to probe P450 inhibiton in the 2E1, 2A6, and 2B4 isoforms. The results from this study suggests that acai inhibits these P450s but in a mixed-inhibitor mechanism where the most probable route of inhibition occurs directly at the active site or some allosteric site that directly suppresses enzyme activity. Using GC-MS/MS, the acai oil contains >55% aldehyde composition, suggesting that these compounds are possible inhibitors for P450s probed in this study.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
2A6, 2B4, 2E1, Acai berry, Cytochrome P450, Euterpe oleracea
Subjects
Cytochrome P450
Antioxidants
Ac¸ai´ palm

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