Chemopreventive Agents and Antioxidants: Significance of Daily Intake as Food Supplement

Much of the protective effects of fruits and supplements have been attributed to phytochemicals withthe ability to protect against oxidative stress induced damage. Accumulating research evidencesuggests that many dietary factors may be used alone or in combination with traditionalchemotherapeutic agents to prevent the occurrence of cancer, their metastatic spread, or even to treatcancer. The reduced cancer risk and lack of toxicity associated with high intake of fruits andvegetables suggest that specific concentrations of antioxidant agents from these dietary sources mayproduce cancer chemopreventive effects without causing significant levels of toxicity. Achemopreventive defense system is required to overcome the process of carcinogenesis generated byreactive oxygen species (ROS).This review presents an analysis of the key findings from studies on the effects of dietaryantioxidants such as ellagic acid, curcumin, EGCG and lycopene against cancers.