Affiliations: Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science,
University of Mauritius, Réduit, Republic of Mauritius | Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank
University, Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK
Note: [] Corresponding authors: Dr. Theeshan Bahorun, Department of
Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Republic of
Mauritius. E-mail: tbahorun@uom.ac.mu. Dr. Okezie I. Aruoma, Faculty of Health
and Social Care, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1
0AA, UK. E-mail: aruomaoi@lsbu.ac.uk and/or aruoma@oicainternational.co.uk
Abstract: Oxidative stress and associated mechanisms involving inflammation,
aberrant signaling pathways and gap junction intercellular communication is
increasingly associated with the pathogenesis of various chronic degenerative
disorders such as atherosclerosis, neurodegeneration and cancer. Consumption of
fruits, vegetables and beverages like teas continue to be suggested to have the
capacity to reduce the incidence of cancer. The bioactive compounds including
phenolics may be responsible for the chemopreventive effects. While the free
radical scavenging and antioxidant properties of phenolics are well
established, emerging literature reports suggest that their chemopreventive
effects may also be ascribed to their ability to modulate components of cell
signaling pathways. This paper reviews the potential chemoprevention role of
phenolics with a focus on cellular signal transduction mechanisms and
prevention of gap junction intercellular communication relevant to cancer.
Keywords: Cancer chemoprevention, inflammation, cell signaling, redox biochemistry, MAPK, NFκB, gap junction intercellular communication, phenolics
Journal: BioFactors, vol. 27, no. 1-4, pp. 19-35, 2006
