Abstract
Nutraceuticals from natural sources have been investigated for their putative chemopreventive and cancer therapeutic properties for the last few decades. The interest in these compounds is in part due to their pleiotropic effects and relatively non-toxic nature. A large number of such nutraceuticals are under detailed investigations worldwide but most of them suffer from the lack of sufficient bioavailability in humans. The identification and characterization of novel natural compounds with sufficient anticancer potential is therefore an ongoing process. This article is a summary of anticancer activity of three such novel nutraceuticals, namely garcinol, plumbagin and mangiferin. These compounds have shown promising biological activity in preliminary studies by targeting multiple signaling pathways. In particular, it seems that the inhibition of NF-κB pathway is one of the major mechanism through which these compounds exhibit their anticancer and apoptosis-inducing effects. The data on their anticancer activity is just emerging and the information on their bioavailability is still insufficient to predict their future application in the clinical settings. In this article, we have surveyed the available literature to summarize the mechanisms of anticancer activity of these three novel nutraceuticals. We also discuss the challenges and possible solutions to realize the dream on the translational potential of these compounds into clinical practice for the prevention and/or treatment of human malignancies.
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Ahmad, A., Padhye, S., Sarkar, F.H. (2012). Role of Novel Nutraceuticals Garcinol, Plumbagin and Mangiferin in the Prevention and Therapy of Human Malignancies: Mechanisms of Anticancer Activity. In: Sarkar, F. (eds) Nutraceuticals and Cancer. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2630-7_10
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