A Hypothetical Model for Action of Soybean Isoflavonoids Against Cancer Involving a Shift to Proline-Linked Energy Metabolism Through Activation of the Pentose-Phosphate Pathway

Soybean isoflavonoids and related phenolic antioxidants from other dietary plant species have long been associated with numerous biological activities linked to the chemoprevention of cancers and oxidation-linked diseases. But until now, no mechanisms or models have been put forth to explain how all of these activities of dietary phenolics could work together to promote health and protect from disease. Here, we present a hypothetical model based on the soybean isoflavonoid genistein for the beneficial action of dietary phenolic antioxidants that incorporates not only the known molecular activities, but also the known metabolic effects that dietary phenolics have on cellular systems such as energy metabolism and the antioxidant enzyme response to reactive oxygen species. Our model presents in a clear manner how a cancerous cell, although mutated and dysfunctional on both biochemical and genetic levels, cannot escape its beginnings as a normal cell and the underlying response mechanisms that are re...