A Canary's-Eye View

Inorganic sulfate is activated with two ATP molecules, producing phosphoadenosyl phosphosulfate (PAPS) — which then reacts with exotoxins to produce sulfated derivatives.
Phenol sulfotransferase (PST) catalyzes sulfuryl group transfer from PAPS to a variety of nucleophilic acceptors.
[A note on nomenclature: phosphoadenosine-phosphosulfate reductase is the name recommended by the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry andMolecular Biology (NC-IUBMB). PAPS may also be referred to by its systematic name: adenosine 3-phosphate 5-phosphosulfate.]

Detoxifies

phenols from foods, for example...
- tannins in tea and persimmons
- quercitin from green beans and rhubarb
- coumarin, in cabbage, radishes, and spinach
- apples, grapes, avocados, and other fruits
- many spices, such as cloves and sassafras
- chocolate, coffee, & red wine
- some herbs used in antioxidant compounds and teas, including grapeseed oil and comfrey tea
- some preservatives, particularly the ubiquitous BHA and BHT
- some artificial food colorings
phenols & amines produced in the body, and in the gut by bacteria, yeast and other fungi
hormones
acetaminophen
chemicals

Requires

Inorganic sulfate: "the availability of free sulfate may be the rate-limiting step for these reactions." (Great Smokies) To maintain adequate supply:
- oral intake of inorganic sulfate doesn't work, stomach breaks it down to organic? [check this]
- eating sulfur-containing amino acids
  - Methionine
    - digestion requires B6, B12, folic acid and magnesium
    - becomes cysteine
  - Cysteine
- Glutathione, since it's composed of cysteine and two other amino acids, may be an important reservoir of inorganic sulfate.
- adequate sulfoxidation (conversion of other forms of sulfur into sulfate)
- Vitamin C also needed to prevent cysteine (which contributes sulfur more readily) from converting to cystine, its oxidized form.
- Topical supplementation:
  - Epsom Salts bath (magnesium sulfate)
  - Is the sulfur in Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) inorganic?
    - creams
    - Aloe vera leaves
Phenol-sulfo-transferase enzyme (PST)
- links an oxidized sulfur molecule (a sulfate) to phenols, to solubilize them
- sulfates glucosamines (sulfated sugars); lack may cause "leaky gut" (see Langford)
- How treat a deficiency?
ATP

Sulfation is particularly susceptible to inhibition due to compromised cofactor status, due for example to
- fasting
- substances metabolized by sulfation, such as acetaminophen. (Sulfation detoxes about 30%; see Acetaminophen Poisoning).
Salicylate suppresses PST enzymes up to 50% according to Willis Langford. (Many foods, dyes, and food colorings are high in salicylate.)
Lack of sulfation diminishes pancreatic enzymes necessary to digestion
Testing - sulfur-transferase activity is estimated from measuring the conversion of acetaminophen (paracetamol) to its sulfate. (As Great Smokies does in their Liver Detoxification Profile)
Treatment?? Need to study Langford more.

Trouble with everything sulfation should detox. See
- My Symptoms of Sulfur Deficiency / Dysfuntion
- The Defect(s) in my Sulfur Metabolism
Terrible digestion, especially of fats
Energy problems lead me to suspect trouble with my Krebs cycle, & thus ATP
My Great Smokies Liver Detoxification Profile Test results
Reflecting on my Liver Detox results:
- I was a bit scared of the Liver Detox test, because I'd had trouble with acetaminophen: for a few years I took it almost all the time, to kill dental pain. (I didn't know about acetaminophen poisoning then.) Then it got to the point where the first dose would kill the pain, but 4 hours later, when I took another dose, I got a liver headache. (See My Liver Attacks.) It didn't happen with the test.
- What does it mean that my sulfation tested just above the reference range?
- If my plasma sulfate levels are low, how come my acetaminophen sulfation is high?
- Perhaps the sulfation detox process works okay, it just has little sulfate to work with, due to deficient formation of it in the sulfoxidation process?
- Or did the fact that I try very hard not to put a load on the sulfation detox pathway, skew the test:
- "The extracellular sulfate pool in humans is among the smallest of animal species and is readily depleted...." (Sulfur in Human Nutrition and Applications in Medicine, by Stephen Parcell, ND. Published by Thorne Research. A PDF file.)
Epsom Salts baths are wonderful!