Cancer Chemoprevention by Flavonoids, Dietary Polyphenols and Terpenoids

The world population is aging, and cancer is always considered to be one of the major causes of death all over the globe. The advent of recent drug-targeted therapies undoubtedly is going to reduce the incidence of cancer over the coming years. However, the frequency of occurrence of such chronic diseases like cancer would continue to increase. Therefore, the search for a safer and cost-effective treatment is urgently needed. Phytochemicals found in plants, foods, vegetables, tea, etc. have emerged as proven therapeutic compounds modulating signaling pathways involved in cancer. We carried out a structured search of bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed research literature using the keywords: cancer chemoprevention, flavonoids, dietary polyphenols, terpenoids, bioactive, microbiota. Quality of the retrieved papers and characteristic outcomes of the articles included in the study was assessed by employing standard tools and deductive qualitative content analysis methodology. The development of personalized supplements comprising particular phytochemicals has been the key, especially dealing with chronic inflammatory disorders like cancer. Better understanding at the molecular level explains the influence of phytochemicals on human health, which has been extensively covered through this review. Moreover, the wide collection of dietary polyphenols that has significant properties in reference to human health has been highlighted. Furthermore, the etiology of end products of such phytochemicals, especially on the modulation of gut microbiota and the host-microbial interactions thereof, need to be properly understood. The present study summarizes the chemoprevention and treatment of cancer using the bioactive components, including flavonoids, dietary polyphenols, and terpenoids. Likewise, the effect of dietary polyphenols on the human gut microbiota has been realized more recently. However, more research is needed in this field, especially focused on the communications, interlinks between the gut microbiota and polyphenols with the precise mechanism of action.