Polyphenols and histone acetylation

Abstract

In this chapter, recent findings concerning the effect of polyphenols on histone acetylation and acetylation as posttranslational proteins modification are summarized. The relevance of an in vitro study to an in vivo situation is discussed, as orally administered polyphenols have a limited bioavailability. Additionally, the effects of polyphenol metabolites produced by gut microbiota metabolism and type I and II phase enzyme activity are described. Polyphenols such as curcumin, gallic acid, epicatechin, and some flavonoids in relatively low concentrations are able to reduce several proinflammatory responses by modulating the HAT and HDAC activities, and at the epigenetic level may affect the proinflammatory state of the human body. On the other hand, the relevance of the observed in vitro epigenetic modulation of green tea, epigallogatechin-3-gallate, and isoflavones in cancer cells are difficult to extrapolate to in vivo conditions as the concentrations used are far higher than those detected in humans. Furthermore, information about the effects of polyphenols' metabolites on epigenetic modulation is scarce and should be taken into consideration in future studies.