Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli) / COX2 Cancer Research Results

SFN, Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli): Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate derived from glucoraphanin, a compound found predominantly in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. It is well known for its potent antioxidant and detoxification properties and has gained significant attention for its potential chemopreventive and anticancer effects.

Summary
1.primarily attenuates both DNMTs and HDACs, individually suppressing DNA hypermethylation and histones deacetylation, ultimately upregulating NRF2 (best known for NRF2↑)
2.Antioxidant Activity:
• Nrf2 activation leads to the upregulation of a host of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes (e.g., glutathione S-transferase, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, heme oxygenase-1), which in turn decrease oxidative stress and lower ROS levels.
3.Pro-oxidant Effects in Cancer Cells and Under High-Dose Conditions (>=10uM?)
• In certain cancer cell types or at higher concentrations, sulforaphane can paradoxically lead to an increase in ROS levels.
• The elevated ROS may overwhelm the cancer cells’ antioxidant defenses, leading to oxidative stress–mediated cell death (apoptosis).
• This context-dependent pro-oxidant effect has been explored for its potential in selectively targeting cancer cells while leaving normal cells less affected.

- Might not be a good candidate for pro-oxidant strategy depending on concentration >10uM?.
- Strong Activation of Nrf2 (best known for) at low to moderate concentrations, hence reduces oxidative stress in both cancer and normal cells.
- AMPK signaling activated by SFN, high concentrations of ROS are produced
- ROS generation also results in depletion of GSH levels
- HIF-1α and VEGF inhibitor
- Might be effective against cancer stem cells
- But I would not combine that with radiation, as Sulforaphane activates the anti-oxidant master regulator of cells.
- “I very much agree: Sulforaphane is a very good addition, even more when the choice is an anti-oxidant therapy”
- well known as HDAC inhibitor (typically 5-10um concentrations)
-A transient decrease in HDAC activity has also been observed in healthy humans 3 h after providing a daily 200 µM SFN dose, resulting in a plasma concentration of SFN metabolites of 0.1–0.2 µM.


Dose/Bioavailabilty information:
SFN at a daily dose of 2.2 µM/kg body weight, with a mean plasma level of 0.13 µM Sprout 127.6 grams = 205uM±19.9 content yields SFN 0.5 to 2uM in plasma.
However, it is important to consider that at lower doses, specifically 2.5 μM, SFN resulted in a slight increase in cell proliferation by 5.18–11.84% within a 6 to 48 h treatment window.
-A therapeutic dose starts at approx 60 grams of the sprouts.
-100 g of Broccoli sprouts contain about 15–20 mg of sulforaphane
–Organic Broccoli Sprout Powder (Health Ranger) – Avmacol® – NanoPSA (a blend of NanoStilbene™ and Broccoli Sprout Extract).
- -750 mg Sulforaphane Glucosinolate in Daily One Serving (2 capsules) (30mg Sulforaphane)

Total sulforaphane metabolite concentration in plasma was the highest (>2 μM) at 3 h in human subjects who consumed fresh broccoli sprouts (40g)
-human studies with broccoli sprouts or extracts report plasma sulforaphane levels in the low micromolar range (typically 1–2 µM) after ingesting realistic, food-based quantities of sprouts (often in the range of 30–50 g of sprouts or a concentrated extract).

BroccoSprouts are young broccoli sprouts that have garnered attention because they contain high amounts of glucoraphanin—a precursor molecule to sulforaphane. Studies have shown that broccoli sprouts can have sulforaphane precursor levels (i.e., glucoraphanin levels) that are 10 to 100 times higher than those found in mature broccoli heads. Glucoraphanin content in broccoli sprouts can range anywhere from about 30 to over 100 mg per 100 grams of fresh sprouts. Once activated (e.g., during consumption when myrosinase acts on glucoraphanin), these levels translate into a significant sulforaphane yield, meaning that even a small amount of broccoli sprouts can deliver a potent dose of this bioactive compound.

Importantly, glucoraphanin itself is not bioactive. Rather, enzymatic hydrolysis by myrosinase, present in the plant tissue or in the mammalian microbiome, is necessary to form the active component, SFN.
- GFN (glucoraphanin) is hydrolyzed in vivo to SFN via the myrosinase, which is present in gut bacteria as well as the plant itself (also in Radish)
- Do not cook the vegetables, or if you do add myrosinase back in by adding radish.
- mild heat of broccoli (60–70 °C) inactivated ESP and preserved myrosinase and increased SF yield 3–7-fold
- chewing of fresh broccoli sprouts increases the interaction of glucosinolates with myrosinase and consequently, increases the bioavailability of SFN in the body

-Note half-life 2-3 hrs.
BioAv is good (15-80%) but requires myrosinase
Pathways:
- induce ROS production
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓, Prx,
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓(contrary, actually most raises NRF2), TrxR↓**, GSH↓, Catalase↓(contrary), HO1↓(contrary), GPx↓
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓">COX2, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, IGF-1↓, VEGF↓, ROCK1↓, FAK↓, RhoA↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, Hh↓, GLi↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, β-catenin↓, sox2↓, notch2↓, nestin↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, 5↓, - SREBP (related to cholesterol).
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells Label Primary Interpretation Notes
1 NRF2 / KEAP1 antioxidant response ↑ NRF2 (often insufficient for rescue) ↑ NRF2 (protective) Driver Electrophile-driven stress response Sulforaphane covalently modifies KEAP1, activating NRF2 signaling
2 Histone deacetylases (HDACs) ↓ HDAC activity ↔ mild modulation Driver Epigenetic reprogramming HDAC inhibition alters transcription of cell-cycle and apoptosis genes
3 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (transient / stress-inducing) ↓ ROS Secondary Redox signaling perturbation ROS rise reflects electrophilic stress rather than classic redox cycling
4 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G2/M or G1 arrest ↔ largely spared Secondary Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest is a prominent phenotype in cancer cells
5 Intrinsic apoptosis ↑ apoptosis (context-dependent) ↔ protected Phenotypic Threshold-dependent cell death Apoptosis occurs when stress exceeds adaptive capacity
6 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Secondary Suppression of inflammatory survival programs NF-κB inhibition supports anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects


COX2, cycloocygenase-2 (Cox-2) mRNA and Cox-2 protein: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: HalifaxProj(inhibit)
Type:
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an enzyme that plays a critical role in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins, which are lipid compounds involved in various physiological processes, including inflammation, pain, and fever. COX-2 is an inducible enzyme, meaning its expression is typically low in normal tissues but can be upregulated in response to inflammatory stimuli, growth factors, and certain oncogenic signals.
-Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin biosynthesis, plays a key role in inflammation and circulatory homeostasis.
-COX-2 is an inducible enzyme that is upregulated in response to pro-inflammatory signals, including cytokines (e.g., IL-1β, TNF-α) and growth factors.

COX-2 is often overexpressed in various tumors, including colorectal, breast, lung, and prostate cancers.
The prostaglandins produced by COX-2, particularly prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), have several effects that can facilitate cancer progression:
Cell Proliferation: PGE2 can promote the proliferation of cancer cells by activating signaling pathways such as the PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways.
Nonselective NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2. Epidemiological studies have suggested that regular use of NSAIDs may reduce the risk of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer.
Drugs specifically targeting COX-2, such as celecoxib, have been developed.

COX-2 and xanthine oxidase are ROS-producing pro-oxidant enzymes that contribute to inflammation. Elevated COX‑2 levels, often found in inflammatory conditions or certain types of cancers, can contribute to increased production of ROS.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2448- SFN,    Sulforaphane and bladder cancer: a potential novel antitumor compound
- Review, Bladder, NA
Apoptosis↑, TumCG↓, TumCI↓, TumMeta↓, glucoNG↓, ChemoSen↑, TumCCA↑, Casp3↑, Casp7↑, cl‑PARP↑, survivin↓, EGFR↓, HER2/EBBR2↓, ATP↓, Glycolysis↓, mt-OXPHOS↓, AKT1↓, HK2↓, Hif1a↓, ROS↑, NRF2↑, EMT↓, COX2↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, Zeb1↓, Snail↓, HDAC↓, HATs↓, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↓, Shh↓, Smo↓, Gli1↓, BioAv↝, BioAv↝, Dose↝,
3663- SFN,    Efficacy of Sulforaphane in Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Review, AD, NA - Review, Park, NA
*antiOx↑, *Inflam↓, *Half-Life↝, *NRF2↑, *NQO1↑, *HO-1↑, *TrxR↑, *ROS↓, *TNF-α↓, *IL1β↓, *IL6↓, *iNOS↓, *COX2↓, *Aβ↓, *GSH↑, *cognitive↑, *BACE↓, *HSP70/HSPA5↑, *neuroP↑, *ROS↓, *BBB↑, *MMP9↓,
3659- SFN,    Epigenetic modification of Nrf2 by sulforaphane increases the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory capacity in a cellular model of Alzheimer's disease
- in-vitro, AD, NA
*NRF2↑, *ROS↓, *MDA↓, *SOD↑, *IL1β↓, *IL6↓, *NF-kB↓, *COX2↓, *iNOS↓, *Inflam↓,
3658- SFN,    Pre-Clinical Neuroprotective Evidences and Plausible Mechanisms of Sulforaphane in Alzheimer’s Disease
- Review, AD, NA
*NRF2↑, *antiOx↑, *neuroP↑, *Aβ↓, *BACE↓, *NQO1↑, *IL1β↓, *TNF-α↓, *IL6↓, *COX2↓, *iNOS↓, *NF-kB↓, *NLRP3↓, *Ca+2↓, *GSH↑, *MDA↓, *ROS↓, *SOD↑, *HO-1↑, *TrxR↑, *cognitive↑, *tau↓, *HSP70/HSPA5↑,
1458- SFN,    Sulforaphane Impact on Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Bladder Carcinoma
- Review, Bladder, NA
HDAC↓, eff↓, TumW↓, TumW↓, angioG↓, *toxicity↓, GutMicro↝, AntiCan↑, ROS↑, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↑, Bax:Bcl2↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, Casp8∅, cl‑PARP↑, TRAIL↑, DR5↑, eff↓, NRF2↑, ER Stress↑, COX2↓, EGFR↓, HER2/EBBR2↓, ChemoSen↑, NF-kB↓, TumCCA?, p‑Akt↓, p‑mTOR↓, p70S6↓, p19↑, P21↑, CD44↓, CSCs↓,
1726- SFN,    Sulforaphane: A Broccoli Bioactive Phytocompound with Cancer Preventive Potential
- Review, Var, NA
Dose↝, eff↝, IL1β↓, IL6↓, IL12↓, TNF-α↓, COX2↓, CXCR4↓, MPO↓, HSP70/HSPA5↓, HSP90↓, VCAM-1↓, IKKα↓, NF-kB↓, HO-1↑, Casp3↑, Casp7↑, Casp8↑, Casp9↑, cl‑PARP↑, Cyt‑c↑, Diablo↑, CHOP↑, survivin↓, XIAP↓, p38↑, Fas↑, PUMA↑, VEGF↓, Hif1a↓, Twist↓, Zeb1↓, Vim↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, E-cadherin↑, N-cadherin↓, Snail↓, CD44↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, cycA1/CCNA1↓, CycB/CCNB1↓, cycE/CCNE↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓, p50↓, P53↑, P21↑, GSH↑, SOD↑, GSTs↑, mTOR↓, Akt↓, PI3K↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, IGF-1↓, cMyc↓, CSCs↓,
1731- SFN,    Targeting cancer stem cells with sulforaphane, a dietary component from broccoli and broccoli sprouts
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, ChemoSen↑, NF-kB↓, Shh↓, Smo↓, Gli1↓, GLI2↓, PI3K↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, Nanog↓, COX2↓, Zeb1↓, Snail↓, ChemoSideEff↓, eff↑, *BioAv↑,
1478- SFN,  acet,    Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of combination between sulforaphane and acetaminophen in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells
- in-vitro, Nor, NA
eff↑, NO↓, iNOS↓, COX2↓, IL1β↓, ROS↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 8 of 8

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 8

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

GSH↑, 1,   GSTs↑, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   MPO↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 2,   mt-OXPHOS↓, 1,   ROS↓, 1,   ROS↑, 2,   SOD↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

ATP↓, 1,   MMP↓, 2,   XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

AKT1↓, 1,   cMyc↓, 1,   glucoNG↓, 1,   Glycolysis↓, 1,   HK2↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Akt↓, 1,   p‑Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 1,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 3,   Casp7↑, 2,   Casp8↑, 1,   Casp8∅, 1,   Casp9↑, 2,   Cyt‑c↓, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 2,   Diablo↑, 1,   DR5↑, 1,   Fas↑, 1,   iNOS↓, 1,   p38↑, 1,   PUMA↑, 1,   survivin↓, 2,   TRAIL↑, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction

HER2/EBBR2↓, 2,   p70S6↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

HATs↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress

CHOP↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 1,   HSP70/HSPA5↓, 1,   HSP90↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 3,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

CDK4↓, 1,   cycA1/CCNA1↓, 1,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   cycE/CCNE↓, 1,   p19↑, 1,   P21↑, 2,   TumCCA?, 1,   TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

CD44↓, 2,   CSCs↓, 3,   EMT↓, 1,   Gli1↓, 2,   HDAC↓, 2,   IGF-1↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   p‑mTOR↓, 1,   Nanog↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 2,   Shh↓, 2,   Smo↓, 2,   TumCG↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 1,  

Migration

E-cadherin↑, 1,   GLI2↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 2,   MMP9↓, 2,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   Snail↓, 3,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumMeta↓, 1,   Twist↓, 1,   VCAM-1↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,   Zeb1↓, 3,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

angioG↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   Hif1a↓, 2,   NO↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 5,   CXCR4↓, 1,   IKKα↓, 1,   IL12↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 2,   IL6↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 3,   p50↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors

CDK6↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↝, 2,   ChemoSen↑, 3,   Dose↝, 2,   eff↓, 2,   eff↑, 2,   eff↝, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

EGFR↓, 2,   GutMicro↝, 1,   HER2/EBBR2↓, 2,   IL6↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

AntiCan↑, 1,   ChemoSideEff↓, 1,   TumW↓, 2,  
Total Targets: 109

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

antiOx↑, 2,   GSH↑, 2,   HO-1↑, 2,   MDA↓, 2,   NQO1↑, 2,   NRF2↑, 3,   ROS↓, 4,   SOD↑, 2,   TrxR↑, 2,  

Cell Death

iNOS↓, 3,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress

HSP70/HSPA5↑, 2,  

Migration

Ca+2↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,  

Barriers & Transport

BBB↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 3,   IL1β↓, 3,   IL6↓, 3,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 2,   TNF-α↓, 2,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission

tau↓, 1,  

Protein Aggregation

Aβ↓, 2,   BACE↓, 2,   NLRP3↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↑, 1,   Half-Life↝, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

IL6↓, 3,  

Functional Outcomes

cognitive↑, 2,   neuroP↑, 2,   toxicity↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 30

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: COX2, cycloocygenase-2 (Cox-2) mRNA and Cox-2 protein
8 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
1 acetaminophen
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells
Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:156  Target#:66  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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