Cancer chemoprevention by carotenoids
Abstract
Carotenoids are natural fat-soluble pigments that provide bright coloration to plants and animals.
Dietary intake of carotenoids is inversely associated with the risk of a variety of cancers in different tissues.
Preclinical studies have shown that some carotenoids have potent antitumor effects both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting potential preventive and/or therapeutic roles for the compounds.
Since chemoprevention is one of the most important strategies in the control of cancer development, molecular mechanism-based cancer chemoprevention using carotenoids seems to be an attractive approach.
Various carotenoids, such as β-carotene, a-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, fucoxanthin, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, have been proven to have anti-carcinogenic activity in several tissues, although high doses of β-carotene failed to exhibit chemopreventive activity in clinical trials.
In this review, cancer prevention using carotenoids are reviewed and the possible mechanisms of action are described.