Dietary Polyphenols in Cancer Chemoprevention: Implications in Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Naturally occurring dietary agents present in a wide variety of plant products, are rich sources of phytochemicals possessing medicinal properties, and thus, have been used in folk medicine for ages to treat various ailments. The beneficial effects of such dietary components are frequently attributed to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, particularly in regards to their antineoplastic activities. As many tumor types exhibit greater oxidative stress levels that are implicated in favoring autonomous cell growth activation, most chemotherapeutic agents can also enhance tumoral oxidative stress levels in part via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). While ROS-mediated imbalance of the cellular redox potential can provide novel drug targets, as a consequence, this ROS-mediated excessive damage to cellular functions, including oncogenic mutagenesis, has also been implicated in inducing chemoresistance. This remains one of the major challenges in the treatment and management of human malignancies. Antioxidant-enriched natural compounds offer one of the promising approaches in mitigating some of the underlying mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis, and therefore, have been extensively explored in cancer chemoprevention. Among various groups of dietary phytochemicals, polyphenols have been extensively explored for their underlying chemopreventive mechanisms in other cancer models. Thus, the current review highlights the significance and mechanisms of some of the highly studied polyphenolic compounds, with greater emphasis on pancreatic cancer chemoprevention.

Curcumin Nanoparticle Enhances the Anticancer Effect of Cisplatin by Inhibiting PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT3 Pathway in Rat Ovarian Carcinoma Induced by DMBA

“…Curcumin worked on multiple steps of carcinogenesis. It is established that curcumin work by inhibiting tumor growth, angiogenesis, and inducing apoptosis ( Park et al, 2013 ; Montané et al, 2020 ; Thyagarajan et al, 2020 ).…”

Food Bioactive Compounds and Emerging Techniques for Their Extraction: Polyphenols as a Case Study

“…However, it is known that the components of diet can exert a protective action against carcinogenesis [ 58 , 59 ]. Polyphenols are natural compounds present in many plants that according to literature, influence in the prevention of malignancy neoplasia [ 58 , 59 ]. The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is reputable to produce several negative outcomes in the organism, such as inflammatory and chronic diseases.…”

“…Under normal conditions, ROS production is balanced by cellular antioxidant activity; however, it can be affected by immune responses against extracellular pathogens and inflammation, which can lead to overproduction of ROS, resulting in an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant systems. The excess of ROS may be a factor that increases cell proliferation through mutations in DNA, leading to the development of carcinomas [ 59 , 60 ]. Thus, the antioxidant activity of the polyphenols can favour the normal functioning of cells.…”

“…Thus, the antioxidant activity of the polyphenols can favour the normal functioning of cells. Also, some compounds, called anti-cancer, act on genome stability, and increase the cellular antioxidant protection by induction of antioxidant enzymes [ 59 , 61 ]. Some polyphenols, such as resveratrol, quercetin, apigenin, curcumin, among others, act in the upregulation of p53 protein expression in several cancer cell lines, through phosphorylation, acetylation, and reduction of oxidative stress, which can lead to cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and finally, to apoptosis of malignant cells.…”

“…In fact, the pathways that lead to cell mutagenesis remain poorly elucidated. However, it is known that the components of diet can exert a protective action against carcinogenesis [58,59]. Polyphenols are natural compounds present in many plants that according to literature, influence in the prevention of malignancy neoplasia [58,59].…”