Possible inhibitory properties against tumor promotion (anti-tumor promoting activity) food items as well as their active constituents have been studied by an in vitro assay detecting inhibition of tumor promoter-induced Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) activation. In screening tests of 121 edible plants, 12% of the methanol extracts exhibited strong activity, and 6 and 10% showed moderate and weak activities, respectively. Oleanolic acid (OA) from a green perilla, mokko lactone (ML) and arctic acid from an edible burdock, and gingerol from a ginger were isolated as inhibitors of EBV activation in Raji cells. OA and ML were proven to be anti-tumor promoters by in vivo tests using a mouse skin model. Similar screening tests of marine algae showed that the algae in the genus Phaeophyta, which contains many edible species such as wakame seaweed and sea tangles, in particular possess significant activities. An in vivo test of an extract of wakame seaweed, an important daily food in Japan, indicated strong anti-tumor promoting activity. Further screening tests of tropical plants used as condiments and occasionally medicines suggested that the Zingiberaceae plants possess highly effective anti-tumor promotion activities. (1'S)-1'-Acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), isolated from Languas galanga, inhibited EBV activation greater than 10 times more potently than other inhibitors from edible plants. On the basis of this investigation, the combination of food constituents is suggested to be a significant source of anti-tumor promoting activity. The two step model of carcinogenesis involving initiation and promotion, first proposed by Berenblum (1,2), has recently been accepted as occurring in a variety of organs (1-8). Thus, chemical inhibition of either process would result in prevention of cancer. While inhibition of tumor initiation has hitherto been extensively studied (9), less attention has been given to the inhibitors of the promotion process, called anti-tumor promoters. This may provide a challenging