Stress Response of Dietary Phytochemicals in a Hormetic Manner for Health and Longevity

The stress responses observed in mammalian cells can be classified as heat shock response, unfolded protein response, autophagic response, deoxyribonucleic acid damage response, antioxidant response, and sirtuin response at the intracellular and molecular levels. Factors that strengthen the hemodynamic structure causing low-level molecular damage and activating one or several stress response pathways are called hormetins. Hormetins can be categorized as physical, physiological, biological, and nutritional hormetins. Nutritional hormetins provide an interesting, comprehensive research topic because of their effects on health and lifespan. Dietary phytochemicals, with their low-level stress-inducing effects, are potential nutritional hormetins. Resveratrol, curcumin, epicatechin, isothiocyanates, ferulic acid, and certain vitamin-minerals can induce a heat shock response, unfolded protein response, autophagic response, deoxyribonucleic acid damage response, antioxidant response, and sirtuin response causing the stimulation of kinases and transcription factors. Studies have shown that these phytochemicals are related to nuclear factor-erythroid 2, sirtuins, nuclear factor-kappa B, and heat shock response pathways. In this chapter, the stress response of dietary phytochemicals will be systematically examined in a hormetic manner for delay of age-related diseases, healthy aging, and longevity based on current data.