title: Fucoxanthin: a marine carotenoid exerting anti-cancer effects by affecting multiple mechanisms.
abstract: Fucoxanthin is a marine carotenoid exhibiting several health benefits. The anti-cancer effect of fucoxanthin and its deacetylated metabolite, fucoxanthinol, is well documented. In view of its potent anti-carcinogenic activity, the need to understand the underlying mechanisms has gained prominence. Towards achieving this goal, several researchers have carried out studies in various cell lines and in vivo and have deciphered that fucoxanthin exerts its anti-proliferative and cancer preventing influence via different molecules and pathways including the Bcl-2 proteins, MAPK, NFκB, Caspases, GADD45, and several other molecules that are involved in either cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, or metastasis. Thus, in addition to decreasing the frequency of occurrence and growth of tumours, fucoxanthin has a cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. Some studies show that this effect is selective, i.e., fucoxanthin has the capability to target cancer cells only, leaving normal physiological cells unaffected/less affected. Hence, fucoxanthin and its metabolites show great promise as chemotherapeutic agents in cancer.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1, Minato Cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan. sangeetha.rk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sangeetha Ravi
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosokawa
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyashita
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D024341:Xanthophylls; C025164:fucoxanthin; D002338:Carotenoids