Current Knowledge and Strategies to Determine Dietary Reference Values for DNA Damage Prevention

Abstract

Damage to the genome is recognised as a fundamental cause of developmental and degenerative diseases. Several micronutrients play an important role in protecting against DNA damage events that are generated through endogenous and exogenous factors by acting as cofactors or substrates for enzymes that detoxify genotoxins as well as enzymes involved in DNA repair, methylation and synthesis. In addition it is evident that either micronutrient deficiency or excess can modify genome stability and that these effects may also depend on nutrient-nutrient and nutrient-gene interaction which is affected by genotype. These observations have led to the emerging science of Genome Health Nutrigenomics which is based on the principle that DNA damage is a fundamental cause of disease that can be diagnosed and nutritionally prevented on an individual, genetic sub-group or population basis. In this review the following topics are discussed: (i) Biomarkers used to study genome damage in humans and their validation; (ii) Current knowledge on micronutrients required for maintenance of genome stability in humans; (iii) Strategies to determine dietary reference values of single micronutrients and micronutrient combinations (nutriomes) based on DNA damage prevention.