Role of Natural Compounds Modulating Heme Catabolic Pathway in Gut, Liver, Cardiovascular, and Brain Diseases.

ABSTRACT: The crucial physiological process of heme breakdown yields biliverdin (BV) and bilirubin (BR) as byproducts. BV, BR, and the enzymes involved in their production (the "yellow players-YP") are increasingly documented as endogenous modulators of human health. Mildly elevated serum bilirubin concentration has been correlated with a reduced risk of multiple chronic pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory diseases, especially in the elderly. BR and BV per se have been demonstrated to protect against neurodegenerative diseases, in which heme oxygenase (HMOX), the main enzyme in the production of pigments, is almost always altered. HMOX upregulation has been interpreted as a tentative defense against the ongoing pathologic mechanisms. With the demonstration that multiple cells possess YP, their propensi

SUBMITTER: Jayanti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10813662 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature