Table 1.
Phytochemicals in diet that may modulate the ECS
| Plant secondary metabolite | Chemical structure | Dietary origin | Target/effect | Potency (IC50, K i)/efficacy | In vivo evidence | Selected references |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCP |
(1).
|
Most widespread, numerous food plants, spices | CB2 receptor agonist | ~200 nM/partial (in vitro), full (in vivo) | strong | Gertsch et al., 2008; Horváth et al., 2012; Klauke et al., 2014 |
| DIM |
(2).
|
Brassicaceae vegetables | CB2 receptor agonist | ~1 μM/partial | missing | Yin et al., 2009 |
| Falcarinol |
(3).
|
Apiaceae, carrots (Daucus carrota), ginseng | CB1 receptor inverse agonist | ~200 nM/full | missing (indirect) | Leonti et al., 2010 |
| Macamide |
(4).
|
Macca (Lepidium meyenii) | AEA reuptake inhibitor (CB1 binding) | ~200 nM/partial | missing | Hajdu et al., 2014 |
| Guineensine |
(5).
|
Piper spp., black pepper | AEA reuptake inhibitor | ~200 nM/full | good | Nicolussi et al., 2014 |
| Biochanin A |
(6).
|
Soybeans (Glycine max), chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) | FAAH1 inhibitor | 0.5–2 μM/full | some | Thors et al., 2010 |
| Genistein |
(7).
|
Fava beans (Vicia faba), lupin (Lupinus spp.), soy | FAAH inhibitor/AEA uptake inhibitor | 1–3 μM/full | missing | Thors et al., 2007; Thors et al., 2010 |
| Daidzein |
(8).
|
Fava beans (Vicia faba), lupin (Lupinus spp.), soy | FAAH inhibitor/AEA uptake inhibitor | 2–4 μM/full | missing | Thors et al., 2007; Thors et al., 2010 |
| Kaempferol |
(9).
|
Widespread in food plants | FAAH inhibitor | 2–4 μM | missing | Thors et al., 2008 |
| β‐amyrin |
(10).
|
Widespread in vegetables | MAGL/ABHD6/ABHD12 inhibitor | ~1 μM/partial | some | Bento et al., 2011b; Chicca et al., 2012 |
| Oleanolic acid |
(11).
|
Relatively widespread in food plants (olive oil) | ABHD12 inhibitor | ~1.5 μM/full | some | Parkkari et al., 2014 |
| Ursolic acid |
(12).
|
Widespread in food plants | ABHD12 inhibitor | ~2 μM/partial | missing | Parkkari et al., 2014 |
| Pristimerin |
(13).
|
Scarce in food, Celastraceae | MAGL inhibitor | 100 nM/full reversible | missing | King et al., 2009 |
| Euphol |
(14).
|
Scarce in food | MAGL inhibitor | 300 nM/full reversible | missing | King et al., 2009 |
| NAEs |
(15).
|
Present in higher plants, widespread in fresh food plants | FAAH and NAAA inhibitors | nM metabolized in vivo | some | Gachet et al., 2017; Petrosino and Di Marzo, 2017 |
