Curcumin-Free Turmeric Exhibits Activity against Human HCT-116 Colon Tumor Xenograft: Comparison with Curcumin and Whole Turmeric

Phytochemicals in Chemoprevention: A Cost-Effective Complementary Approach

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death across the world. Although conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have effectively decreased cancer progression, they come with many dose-limiting side-effects. Phytochemicals that naturally occur in spices, fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and other common foods are surprisingly effective complements to conventional cancer treatments. These biologically active compounds demonstrate anticancer effects via cell signaling pathway interference in cancerous cells. In addition, phytochemicals protect non-cancerous cells from chemotherapy-induced side-effects. This paper addresses the not only the potential of phytochemicals quercetin, isoflavones, curcumin, catechins, and hesperidin in terms of cancer treatment and protection against side-effects of chemotherapy, but also methods for increasing phytochemical bioavailability.

Injectable and In Situ-Formable Thiolated Chitosan-Coated Liposomal Hydrogels as Curcumin Carriers for Prevention of In Vivo Breast Cancer Recurrence

To improve water solubility and bioavailability, curcumin (Cur) was encapsulated by liposomes (Cur-Lip), which was further coated with thiolated chitosan (CSSH) to form liposomal hydrogels (CSSH/Cur-Lip gel). The hydrogels were thermosensitive with in situ injectable performance, which were fluidic at room temperature and gelled quickly at 37 °C. The cumulative release ratio of the 200 μM CSSH/Cur-Lip gel was 31.57 ± 1.34% at 12 h, which could effectively delay the release of curcumin. Worthily, the resilient hydrogels were compressive even after five cycles of compression. The cytotoxicity test indicated that the liposomal hydrogels had good cytocompatibility, but after encapsulation of curcumin, MCF-7 cells were suppressed and killed dramatically after 72 h. The in vivo breast cancer recurrence experiment showed that the CSSH/Cur-Lip gel inhibited breast cancer recurrence after tumors were resected, and the tissue of defect in the CSSH/Cur-Lip gel group was repaired. The results showed that the drug-loaded liposomal hydrogels can deliver curcumin continuously and exerted an excellent tumoricidal effect in vitro and in vivo. The injectable, in situ-formable, and thermosensitive CSSH/Cur-Lip gel can be designed as a promising novel drug delivery vehicle to be used as carriers for local accurate and sustained drug delivery to minimize burst release and as tissue engineering scaffolds for tissue regeneration after tumor resection.

Targeting NF-κB signaling pathway in cancer by dietary polyphenols

Being a transcription factor, NF-κB regulates gene expressions involving cell survival and proliferation, drug resistance, metastasis, and angiogenesis. The activation of NF-κB plays a central role in the development of inflammation and cancer. Thus, the down-regulation of NF-κB may be an exciting target in prevention and treatment of cancer. NF-κB could act as a tumor activator or tumor suppressant decided by the site of action (organ). Polyphenols are widely distributed in plant species, consumption of which have been documented to negatively regulate the NF-κB signaling pathway. They depress the phosphorylation of kinases, inhibit NF-κB translocate into the nucleus as well as interfere interactions between NF-κB and DNA. Through inhibition of NF-κB, polyphenols downregulate inflammatory cascade, induce apoptosis and decrease cell proliferation and metastasis. This review highlights the anticancer effects of polyphenols on the basis of NF-κB signaling pathway regulation.