Phytochemical 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Suppresses Oxidative Stress in the Initiation of Chronic Illness

By Kyle J. Norton

Scientists may have found a bioactive ingredient for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress with no side effects, according to studies.

Oxidative stress in a condition caused either by overexpression of free radicals or depletion of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host.

In other words, the condition of oxidative stress occurs only under imbalance of the ratio of free radicals and antioxidants.

Antioxidants can be either produced by the body or injected to the body from the outside sources such as consumptions of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

Free radicals are everywhere, including the air we breathe, the food we eat and the body daily functioning such as cell metabolism.

In other words, any chemical compound which has an oxygen molecule can become free radical after entering our body.

Most healthy individuals can produce enough amounts of antioxidant endogenously to counter the bombards of free radicals. However, for people with a weakened immune system such as elderly and immature immune system such as baby may need the injection of antioxidants from the outside sources.

More precisely, people with a weakened immune system do not produce enough antioxidant enzymes to inhibit the chain reaction of free radicals which occurs daily in the body due to the unstable nature of the molecules.

Believe it or not, our body needs limit levels of some free radicals to function better, including lower blood pressure, relax blood vessels to move blood, such as nitric oxide NO.

3,3'-Diindolylmethane or DIM are phytochemicals derived from the digestion of indole-3-carbinol, belonging to the group of Indoles, found abundantly in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale, etc.

With an aim to find the natural ingredient for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, researchers investigated the effect of indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and its metabolite, 3, 3'- diindolylmethane (DIM) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

The study included selected genetically modified mouse (C57BL/6J mice) similar to that of metabolic abnormalities of the human disease after the administration of a high-fat diet (HFD).

Including indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and its metabolite, 3, 3'- diindolylmethane (DIM) into the diet showed a positively modulated the glucose, insulin, and Hb and HbA1c levels in HFD mice against the risk of diabetes complications.

Compared to the HFD group, injection of I3C and DIM protected the infected rat against the formation lipid peroxidation observed by levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), conjugated dienes (CD).

Furthermore, levels of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were also increased, an indication of the balance of the ratio of antioxidants and free radicals.

Interestingly, I3C and DIM also improved the free radical scavengers such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and improved the reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in treated mice.

Based on the findings, researchers summarized, "From the study, it was clear that the antioxidant-scavenging action was accelerated in mice treated with DIM than the I3C treatment group which was comparable with the standard drug metformin".

Taken altogether, 3,3'-Diindolylmethane derived from the digestion of indole-3-carbinol may be considered a supplement for the prevention and combined with primary medicine for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of 3,3'-diindolylmethane in form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Dietary Glucosinolates Sulforaphane, Phenethyl Isothiocyanate, Indole-3-Carbinol/3,3'-Diindolylmethane: Anti-Oxidative Stress/Inflammation, Nrf2, Epigenetics/Epigenomics and In Vivo Cancer Chemopreventive Efficacy by Fuentes F1, Paredes-Gonzalez X1, Kong AN. (PubMed)
(2) Attenuation of hyperglycemia-mediated oxidative stress by indole-3-carbinol and its metabolite 3, 3'- diindolylmethane in C57BL/6J mice by Jayakumar P1, Pugalendi KV, Sankaran M. (PubMed)