Tea Polyphenols and Their Roles in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy

doi:10.3390/ijms9071196

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2008, 9(7), 1196-1206; doi:10.3390/ijms9071196

Review

Tea Polyphenols and Their Roles in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy

Di Chen * and Q. Ping Dou

The Prevention Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 8 May 2008; in revised form: 26 June 2008 / Accepted: 27 June 2008 / Published: 12 July 2008

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Compounds for Cancer Treatment and Prevention)

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Abstract: Many plant-derived, dietary polyphenols have been studied for their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties against human cancers, including green tea polyphenols, genistein (found in soy), apigenin (celery, parsley), luteolin (broccoli), quercetin (onions), kaempferol (broccoli, grapefruits), curcumin (turmeric), etc. The more we understand their involved molecular mechanisms and cellular targets, the better we could utilize these “natural gifts” for the prevention and treatment of human cancer. Furthermore, better understanding of their structure-activity relationships will guide synthesis of analog compounds with improved bio-availability, stability, potency and specificity. This review focuses on green tea polyphenols and seeks to summarize several reported biological effects of tea polyphenols in human cancer systems, highlight the molecular targets and pathways identified, and discuss the role of tea polyphenols in the prevention and treatment of human cancer. The review also briefly describes several other dietary polyphenols and their biological effects on cancer prevention and chemotherapy.

Keywords: tea polyphenols; cancer prevention; chemotherapy

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, D.; Dou, Q.P. Tea Polyphenols and Their Roles in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2008, 9, 1196-1206.

AMA Style

Chen D, Dou QP. Tea Polyphenols and Their Roles in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2008; 9(7):1196-1206.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Di; Dou, Q. P. 2008. "Tea Polyphenols and Their Roles in Cancer Prevention and Chemotherapy." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 9, no. 7: 1196-1206.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. EISSN 1422-0067 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert