Therapeutic properties of phenolic compounds of natural products in cancer
Therapeutic properties of phenolic compounds of natural products in cancer
Azadeh Teimury,1Elahe Mahmoodi Khaledi,2Elahe Seyed Hosseini,3,*
1. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran 2. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran 3. Anatomical Sciences Research Center, Basic Sciences Research Institute, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Gametogenesis Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Introduction: Over the past 50 years, cancer has been considered as the second leading cause of death worldwide. Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites found in most plant tissues. Various bioactivities of phenolic compounds are responsible for their chemopreventive properties such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, or anti-inflammatory effects. Natural phenolic compounds play an important role in cancer prevention and treatment. Due to the adverse side effects of chemical drugs, natural drug and products used in traditional medicine have been studied as possible alternatives to these therapeutic because they have minimal gastrointestinal toxicity.
Methods: Many studies have examined the effects of natural products and their compounds such as phenolics and flavonoids, tocopherols, peptides, sugars, etc. with diverse sources at in vivo levels with research on humans and mouse models, and in vitro using different cell lines such as HCT 116, LoVo, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7. At both levels, the effects of these compounds on cancer-related pathways such as oxidative stress, apoptosis, proliferation, autophagy, invasion, metastasis, and markers involved in these pathways have been investigated. This review focuses on many natural products that play a role in cancer prevention and that promote human health without recognizable side effects.
Results: Natural compounds can be administered to patients, usually without the side effects and toxicity of synthetic preparations and some natural compounds have been administered with success. While chemical drugs cause nonspecific killing of cells, the results of various studies around the world show that natural products offer protective and therapeutic actions to all cells with low cytotoxicity and are beneficial in producing nutrient repletion to high-risk people.
Conclusion: The potential of natural products as pharmaceutical resources to cover a wide range of therapeutic effects is currently being realized and they have been of increasing interest to science and food industry for their beneficial health effects and are case studies for further applications.