Antioxidant metabolism induced by quinic acid. increased urinary excretion of tryptophan and nicotinamide

• Published in: Phytotherapy research Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 335 - 346
• Main Authors: Pero, Ronald W, Lund, Harald, Leanderson, Tomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-03-2009; Wiley
• Subjects: antioxidant metabolism; Antioxidants - metabolism; Basic Medicine; Biological and medical sciences; Diet; DNA repair; Farmakologi och toxikologi; General pharmacology; Hippurates - blood; Hippurates - pharmacokinetics; Hippurates - urine; hippuric acid; Humans; Linear Models; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper; Niacinamide - biosynthesis; Niacinamide - urine; nicotinamide; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology and Toxicology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; quinic acid; Quinic Acid - blood; Quinic Acid - pharmacokinetics; Quinic Acid - urine; Sulfhydryl Compounds - blood; tryptophan; Tryptophan - biosynthesis; Tryptophan - urine; Excretion; Hippuric acid; Pharmacognosy; Tryptophan; B-Vitamins; Antioxidant; Metabolism; DNA repair; antioxidant metabolism; Medicinal plant; α-Aminoacid; Aminoacid; DNA; Plant origin; Nicotinamide; Pharmacokinetics; Repair; quinic acid
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/ptr.2628

For over 50 years, hippuric/quinic acids were believed to have no biological efficacy. Here data are presented to support the hypothesis that quinic acid is not responsible for any efficacy, but rather that quinic acid nutritionally supports the synthesis of tryptophan and nicotinamide in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and that this in turn leads to DNA repair enhancement and NF-kB inhibition via increased nicotinamide and tryptophan production.Moreover, it is shown that quinic acid is a normal constituent of our diet, capable of conversion to tryptophan and nicotinamide via the GI tract microflora, thus providing an in situ physiological source of these essential metabolic ingredients to humans. The concentrations of quinic and hippuric acids in the diet were dependent on each other when analysed in urine, as was evidenced by a significant linear regression analysis that included unsupplemented control subjects (n = 45, p < 0.001). Thus, these ingredients were identified as major dietary components, and not simply originating from environmental pollution as previously had been thought. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.