Natural dietary agents have attracted considerable attention due to their role in promoting health and reducing the risk of diseases including cancer. Ginger, one of the most ancient known spices, contains bioactive compounds with several health benefits. [6]-Gingerol constitutes the most pharmacologically active among such compounds. The aim of the present work was to review the literature pertaining to the use of ginger extract and [6]-gingerol against tumorigenic and oxidative and inflammatory processes associated with cancer, along with the underlying mechanisms of action involved in signaling pathways. This will shed some light on the protective or therapeutic role of ginger derivatives in oxidative and inflammatory regulations during metabolic disturbance and on the antiproliferative and anticancer properties. Data collected from experimental (in vitro or in vivo) and clinical studies discussed in this review indicate that ginger extract and [6]-gingerol exert their action through important mediators and pathways of cell signaling, including Bax/Bcl2, p38/MAPK, Nrf2, p65/NF-κB, TNF-α, ERK1/2, SAPK/JNK, ROS/NF-κB/COX-2, caspases-3, -9, and p53. This suggests that ginger derivatives, in the form of an extract or isolated compounds, exhibit relevant antiproliferative, antitumor, invasive, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Among all plant derivates, essential oils (EOs) have gained the attention of many scientists. Diterpenes, a family of components present in some EO, are becoming a milestone in the EOs world. The goal of this review is to describe a scenario of diterpenes taking into health-consumption deportment. Previous studies revealed that diterpenes have antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, cytotoxic, anticancer, antigenotoxic, antimutagenic, chemopreventive, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, immunostimulatory, organoprotective, antidiabetic, lipid-lowering, antiallergic, antiplatelet, antithrombotic, and antitoxin activities. In conclusion, diterpenes may be an immense featuring concern in pharmaceutical consumption from a drug discovery point of view. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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The study prepared a nanoemulsion with a diterpenoid isoprenoid alcohol called phytol (PYT) and subsequently tested it for antioxidant capacity. For this, PYT-loaded nanoemulsion was prepared by phase inversion method and both PYT-containing nanoemulsion (PNE) and PYT-free nanoemulsion (PFNE) (2-16 µM) were tested for antiradical activity (DPPH•: 1,1-dipheny-picrylhydrazyl radical; ABTS•+: azino-bisethylbenzthiazoline-sulfonic acid; •OH: hydroxyl radical scavenging; NO•: nitrite oxide radical), lipid peroxidation (LP), reduction potential (RP), and inhibition of hemolysis (HL) in rat erythrocytes in comparison with an α-tocopherol analogue (Trolox -TRO -positive control). In addition, an in vivo test was performed with wildtype and deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains using hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) as a stressor. Results suggest that PNE exhibited higher antioxidant than the PFNE. Increasing doses reveled antioxidant capacity in a dose-dependent manner. In the S. cerevisiae study, both PFNEand PNE-treated groups exhibited decreased rates of survival with the highest doses, whichever in the presence of stressor increased the survival rates, which indicates antioxidative defense capacity of PYT. In this occasion, PNE exhibited prominent antioxidative defense in the presence of stressor rather than PFNE. In conclusion, PYT exhibited potential antioxidant activity but at high concentration it was toxic to the yeast cells. The production of PYT-nanoemulsions may be relevant to the pharmaceutical sciences.

A significant number of studies have been performed with diterpene effect on the brain. Our study aims to make a systematic revision on them. The initial purpose of this review was to screen diterpenes with neurological activity, in particular those that have already been studied and published in different journals (databases until August 2015). The second purpose was to make an action-wise discussion as results viewed on them by taking into drug discovery and development account. Diterpenes considered in this review were selected on the basis of updated information on them and having sufficient information on their screenings. We identified several examples of diterpenes having an interest in further study. We have included the possible sources of them as observed in evidence, their known molecular neurobiological mechanisms, and the active constituents responsible for such activities with the doses and test systems. Results suggest diterpenes to have neurobiological activities like neuro-protection, anti-epileptic, anxiolytic, anti-Alzheimer's disease, anti-Parkinson's disease, anti-cerebral ischemia, anti-neuropathic pain, anti-neuro-inflammatory, and many more. In conclusion, diterpenes may be the prominent candidates in neurobiological drug research.

Abbreviations: 5-HIAA, hydroxyindole acetic acid; 5-HT, serotonin; ACC, acetyl coa carboxylase; AChE, acetylcholinesterase; ADA, adenosine deaminase; Akt, protein kinase b; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AO, acid output; APAP, n-acetyl-p-aminophenol; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; bax/bcl-4, apoptosis regulator; bcl-1, cyclin b 1 ; bcl-2, cyclin b 2 ; bcl-xl, cyclin b xl; BUN, blood urea ni-

Mata aMOF da et al. 680rev assoC med bras 2016; 62(7):680-686 This review is aimed at the systematic mapping of ascorbic acid in the prevention and/or treatment of cancer in clinical and non-clinical studies from 2011 to 2015, in order to understand dose-response variations as well as its mechanisms of action as an antioxidant and antitumor agent. Seventy-eight articles were retrieved from the PubMed/Bireme database, of which only 30 included ascorbic acid in the prevention and/or treatment of cancer. However, there are controversies regarding doses and a lack of clinical studies featuring its mechanism of action more clearly. Other studies are needed to understand dose-response variations, as well as its targeting mechanisms of action, both as an antioxidant and antitumor agent, to assist treatment and prevention of cancer, aiming at better quality of life for both patients and the general population.