Nutraceuticals in the Mediterranean Diet: Potential Avenues for Breast Cancer Treatment

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 2557
• Main Authors: Augimeri, Giuseppina, Montalto, Francesca Ida, Giordano, Cinzia, Barone, Ines, Lanzino, Marilena, Catalano, Stefania, Andò, Sebastiano, De Amicis, Francesca, Bonofiglio, Daniela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.07.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Angiogenesis; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Bioavailability; Biological effects; Breast cancer; Breast carcinoma; Breast Neoplasms - diet therapy; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Catechin - analogs & derivatives; Catechin - pharmacology; Cell cycle; Cell Cycle Checkpoints; Cell differentiation; Chronic diseases; Diabetes; Diet; Diet, Mediterranean; Dietary Supplements; Enzymes; epigallocatechin gallate; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - pharmacology; Female; Food; Functional foods; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Gene expression; Humans; Immune response; Immunomodulation; In vivo methods and tests; Inflammation; Kinases; Medical prognosis; Medical research; mediterranean diet; Metabolites; Microbiota; Nervous system diseases; nutraceuticals; Nutrients; Olive oil; omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; Oral administration; Oxidation; Oxidative stress; Polyphenols; Polyphenols - pharmacology; Proteins; Resveratrol; Resveratrol - pharmacology; Retinoids; Retinoids - pharmacology; Review; Seeds; Tea; Tumors; Type 2 diabetes; Unsaturated fatty acids; Canada; Mediterranean Sea; epigallocatechin gallate; cell cycle; inflammation; angiogenesis; nutraceuticals; mediterranean diet; apoptosis; resveratrol; omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; retinoids
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13082557

The traditional Mediterranean Diet constitutes a food model that refers to the dietary patterns of the population living in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the early 1960s. A huge volume of literature data suggests that the Mediterranean-style diet provides several dietary compounds that have been reported to exert beneficial biological effects against a wide spectrum of chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer including breast carcinoma. Among bioactive nutrients identified as protective factors for breast cancer, natural polyphenols, retinoids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and antitumoral properties. The multiple anticancer mechanisms involved include the modulation of molecular events and signaling pathways associated with cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis, antioxidant enzymes and immune responses. This review summarizes the anticancer action of some polyphenols, like resveratrol and epigallocatechin 3-gallate, retinoids and omega-3 PUFAs by highlighting the important hallmarks of cancer in terms of (i) cell cycle growth arrest, (ii) apoptosis, (iii) inflammation and (iv) angiogenesis. The data collected from in vitro and in vivo studies strongly indicate that these natural compounds could be the prospective candidates for the future anticancer therapeutics in breast cancer disease.