Polyphenols and the human brain: plant “secondary metabolite” ecologic roles and endogenous signaling functions drive benefits

Abstract

Flavonoids and other polyphenols are ubiquitous plant chemicals that fulfill a range of ecologic roles for their home plant, including protection from a range of biotic and abiotic stressors and a pivotal role in the management of pathogenic and symbiotic soil bacteria and fungi. They form a natural part of the human diet, and evidence suggests that their consumption is associated with the beneficial modulation of a number of health-related variables, including those related to cardiovascular and brain function. Over recent years, the consensus as to the mechanisms responsible for these effects in humans has shifted away from polyphenols having direct antioxidant effects and toward their modulation of cellular signal transduction pathways. To date, little consideration has been given to the question of why, rather than how, these plant-derived chemicals might exert these effects. Therefore, this review summarizes the evidence suggesting that polyphenols beneficially affect human brain function and describes the current mechanistic hypotheses explaining these effects. It then goes on to describe the ecologic roles and potential endogenous signaling functions that these ubiquitous phytochemicals play within their home plant and discusses whether these functions drive their beneficial effects in humans via a process of “cross-kingdom” signaling predicated on the many conserved similarities in plant, microbial, and human cellular signal transduction pathways.

FIGURE 1

Structure and synthetic pathways of the flavonoid and stilbene polyphenols, with selected example structures. Arrows indicate synthetic pathways. Reproduced from reference with permission.

FIGURE 2

Conserved signaling molecules: the plant jasmonate hormones (e.g., jasmonic acid) and the orthologous mammalian eicosanoids/PGs (e.g., PGE₂) showing the analogous PUFA precursors. Reproduced from reference with permission.