Dietary Modulation of Cell Signaling Pathways

Article Outline

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The underlying aim of this series of books is to focus on the role of oxidative stress as a major factor in human health and disease by evaluating the basic scientific evidence linking oxidants and antioxidants to cell and tissue function and their clinical relevance. Although the intended audience includes clinicians, this particular volume would be of principal value for basic researchers in biomedical science, because much of the experimental information presented is from in vitro studies or in vivo in small animals with the human support primarily from epidemiologic evidence or very limited human investigations. The specific intent in this volume is to highlight the effects that natural source components of the diet such as food phytochemicals, including carotenoids, dietary polyphenols, selenium, sulphoraphanes, tumeric, tea, ginger, astaxanthin, and ginkgo biloba as well as a number of others, have on cellular signaling pathways and modulation of gene expression.

The molecular biology of the key components of the intracellular signaling pathways that underlie inflammation, the redox homeostasis and cellular stress response and the carcinogenic process and their modulation by diet are the central themes of the majority of the chapters in this volume. Lesser emphasis is given to the application of these principles to other inflammation-related concerns such as high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and inflammation, Alzheimer's disease, β-thalassemia, and endothelial function. Although there is some overlap in terms of a discussion of the inflammatory pathways, this is minimal and does not detract from the general consideration of the topic despite the multiple authors, who are experts in their field. Extensive references, which are reasonably comprehensive and current, are used with the quality of the authors, and their contributions are generally good. Most of the figures are in black and white and effectively complement the text. The book is hard cover, standard book size (easy to hold in your hand but too large for your pocket), contains 18 chapters, with good-quality tables and paper, and an adequate index. This volume does fill a need, given the demonstrated evidence on a population basis of the role of diet in inflammation and carcinogenesis.

Bottom Line: The link between individual dietary components and disease is mainly supported by this basic evidence, whereas the clinical translation of this information is still in a very preliminary stage, perhaps owing to the possibility that the benefits seen epidemiologically result from an interaction of many active ingredients with limited knowledge of their effective dose(s) rather than as a consequence of only those components that have been shown experimentally to be active individually on a cellular level in vitro and often in doses not achievable in man by dietary means. This would be a worthwhile purchase for those who are conducting basic or clinical research in the specific fields covered, but of less utility for those who have only a general interest in these areas.