Chemopreventive Agents and Inhibitors of Cancer Hallmarks: May Citrus Offer New Perspectives?
Fruits and vegetables have long been recognized as potentially important in the prevention of cancer risk. Thus, scientific interest in nutrition and cancer has grown over time, as shown by increasing number of experimental studies about the relationship between diet and cancer development. This review attempts to provide an insight into the anti-cancer effects ofCitrusfruits, with a focus on their bioactive compounds, elucidating the main cellular and molecular mechanisms through which they may protect against cancer. Scientific literature was selected for this review with the aim of collecting the relevant experimental evidence for the anti-cancer effects ofCitrusfruits and their flavonoids. The findings discussed in this review strongly support their potential as anti-cancer agents, and may represent a scientific basis to develop nutraceuticals, food supplements, or complementary and alternative drugs in a context of a multi-target pharmacological strategy in the oncology.
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina I-98168, Italy. scirmi@unime.it.
Santa
S
Cirmi
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina I-98168, Italy. nadiaferlazzo@email.it.
Nadia
N
Ferlazzo
Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro I-88100, Italy. gelombardo@unicz.it.
Giovanni E
GE
Lombardo
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina I-98168, Italy. maugeri.alessandro@gmail.com.
Alessandro
A
Maugeri
Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina I-98125, Italy. gcalapai@unime.it.
Gioacchino
G
Calapai
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina I-98125, Italy. gangemis@unime.it.|Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (ISASI), National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli I-80078, Italy. gangemis@unime.it.
Sebastiano
S
Gangemi
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina I-98168, Italy. mnavarra@unime.it.
Michele
M
Navarra
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D002957:Citrus; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014675:Vegetables
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D005419:Flavonoids
Citrus; cancer; complementary and alternative medicines; flavonoids; functional foods; natural product; nutraceuticals