phytochemicals in cancer prevention and therapy truth or dare植物化学物质在癌症预防和治疗的真理或敢.pdfVIP

Toxins 2010, 2, 517-551; doi:10.3390/toxins2040517 OPEN ACCESS toxins ISSN 2072-6651 /journal/toxins Review Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and Therapy: Truth or Dare? Maria Russo †, Carmela Spagnuolo †, Idolo Tedesco † and Gian Luigi Russo * Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, 83100, Avellino, Italy; E-Mails: mrusso@r.it (M.R.); carmela.spagnuolo@ (C.S.); idolo@r.it (I.T.) † These three authors contributed equally to the data presented. * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: glrusso@r.it; Tel.: +39-0825-299-331; Fax: +39-0825-781585. Received: 21 February 2010; in revised form: 10 March 2010 / Accepted: 10 March 2010/ Published: 31 March 2010 Abstract: A voluminous literature suggests that an increase in consumption of fruit and vegetables is a relatively easy and practical strategy to reduce significantly the incidence of cancer. The beneficial effect is mostly associated with the presence of phytochemicals in the diet. This review focuses on a group of them, namely isothiocyanate, curcumin, genistein, epigallocatechin gallate, lycopene and resveratrol, largely studied as chemopreventive agents and with potential clinical applications. Cellular and animal studies suggest that these molecules induce apoptosis and arrest cell growth by pleiotropic mechanisms. The anticancer efficacy of these compounds may result from their use in monotherapy or in association with chemotherapeut