The Involvement of Natural Polyphenols in the Chemoprevention of Cervical Cancer

Abstract

From all types of cancer, cervical cancer manages to be in top four most frequent types, with a 6.5% rate of occurrence. The infectious vector that induces the disease, the high-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted virus, is capable of transforming the host cell by modulating some of the principal signaling pathways responsible for cell cycle arrest, proliferation, and survival. Fortunately, like other cancer types, cervical cancer can be treated by chirurgical interventions or chemoradiotherapy, but these methods are not exactly the lucky clover of modern medicine because of the adverse effects they have. That is the reason why in the last years the emphasis has been on alternative medicine, more specifically on phytochemicals, as a substantial number of studies showed that diet contributes to cancer prevention and treatment. All these studies are trying to find new chemopreventive agents with less toxicity but high effectiveness both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this review is to evaluate the literature in order to underline the advantages and disadvantages of polyphenols, a class of dietary compounds, as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents. This review also aims to present polyphenols from different perspectives, starting with mechanisms of action and ending with their toxicity. The bigger picture illustrates that polyphenols have great potential in cervical cancer prevention, with strong effects on gene modulation.

Nutraceuticals and Cancer: Potential for Natural Polyphenols

“…Natural compounds with anticancer properties are capable of killing transformed or cancerous cells without being toxic to healthy cells. Most fruits and vegetables consumed with food are made up of bioactive molecules belonging to the family of polyphenols, a group of natural compounds widely distributed in the plant kingdom; this group is varied, and to date, more than 8000 phenolic structures are known [41]. Polyphenols are classified according to chemical structure, and their subdivision is represented in Figure 2.…”

Protective Role of Combined Polyphenols and Micronutrients against Influenza A Virus and SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro

“…Polyphenols are bioactive compounds derived from plants and produced as secondary metabolites [ 4 ]. Besides their established antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, several studies demonstrated their significant protection against viruses and several pathogens, including the Epstein–Barr and herpes simplex viruses [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. We have already demonstrated the ability of resveratrol in inhibiting the replication of influenza A virus [ 8 ], and recent research in this field demonstrates that various types of polyphenols, such as resveratrol and pterostilbene, are promising antiviral compounds to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection [ 9 ]; indeed, other research aligns perfectly with these results [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Polyphenols as Potent Epigenetics Agents for Cancer

“…In recent years, plant polyphenols have received substantial attention for their cancer-preventing effects. Several studies have demonstrated that plant polyphenols are chemopreventive against multiple types of cancer [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ].…”