Recently, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at the Southern University of Science and Technology, Wang Songling, along with Professor Hideaki Kagami from Aichi Medical University in Japan, published a review article in "Medicine+" journal. The paper systematically elaborated on the cognition process, sources, and metabolism of nitrate, and discussed the relationship between nitrate and body homeostasis, as well as possible mechanisms, from three aspects: microbiota homeostasis, inflammation-immune homeostasis, and energy metabolism homeostasis, deeply analyzing the association between nitrate and body homeostasis, emphasizing the critical role of nitrate in maintaining body homeostasis.
In the past, due to concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of N-nitrosamines formed by nitrate, it was commonly believed that nitrate was harmful to health. However, with the deepening of scientific research, researchers have found that nitrate not only widely exists in the natural environment such as soil, water, and food but also plays important physiological functions in the human body.
The article pointed out that nitrate mainly enters the human body through food and drinking water, undergoes a series of complex biochemical reactions, and eventually transforms into active substances such as nitric oxide inside cells, participating in the regulation of various physiological processes. In terms of microbiota homeostasis, nitrate is crucial for maintaining the balance of intestinal microbiota, affecting the growth of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the gut, thereby maintaining the stability of the gut microbiota, and subsequently positively impacting overall human health. In terms of inflammation-immune homeostasis, nitrate participates in maintaining immune homeostasis by regulating the activity of immune cells and inflammatory responses. Nitrate can inhibit overactive immune cells, alleviate inflammatory reactions, thereby avoiding damage to tissues. Regarding energy metabolism homeostasis, nitrate can affect cellular energy metabolism processes by regulating mitochondrial function, maintaining stable energy supply for cells, which is of great significance for maintaining normal physiological functions of the body.
Homeostatic balance is a necessary condition for the body to maintain health, and nitrate, as a "messenger" from the mouth to the whole body, has broad prospects for application in maintaining health and treating diseases. This research not only helps us better understand the physiological functions of nitrate in the human body but also provides important theoretical basis for the future development of novel drugs or treatment methods based on nitrate.
Related paper information: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medp.2023.100003
Illustration of the physiological functions of nitrates, provided by the research team.
