Berry chemoprevention: Do berries decrease the window of opportunity for tumorigenesis

Abstract

In addition to smoking and UV exposure, lifestyle factors, such as diet, nutrition, and physical activity, have been shown to play a significant role for many cancers. It is estimated that up to 50% of some cancer types are preventable; many through lifestyle and dietary changes with the presence or absence of certain dietary components strongly associated with an increased or decreased risk. Here we summarize the work that has been performed with polyphenols, with a focus on those derived from black raspberries. These have been extensively studied for the prevention and treatment of a variety of conditions and diseases. Here we focus on their use for the prevention or treatment of specific cancer types and the impact they have on biological systems. The aim is to highlight the need to improve our understanding of how the environment impacts upon the normal biological processes that affect health and disease, thereby, enabling us to implement smarter prevention and treatment measures.

Elderberries—A Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antiviral Action

“…Having in their composition such a great variety of flavones, isoflavones, flavanols, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, lectins and, last but not least, vitamins, elderberries have demonstrated their healing qualities, presenting: antiviral activity [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], potential to stimulate immunity [ 38 , 39 ], antioxidant potential [ 28 , 40 , 41 ], antibacterial activity [ 42 , 43 ], antitumor potential [ 44 ], impact on obesity and metabolic dysfunction [ 40 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], antidepressant potential [ 48 , 49 ] and antidiabetic properties [ 50 ].…”

“…In addition to smoking and UV exposure, lifestyle such as diet, nutrition and physical activities have been shown to play a significant role in many cancers. It is estimated that up to 50% of some cancers can be prevented, many of them through lifestyle and diet changes, with the presence or absence of certain dietary components strongly associated with an increased or low risk of developing cancers [ 44 ].…”

“…Due to the high content of anthocyanins, the elderberries are cited as having preventive potential, especially in the cancers of the sphere of ENT, esophageal, stomach or colorectal [ 44 ]. In addition, anthocyanins play a very important role in cancer prevention because they are antioxidants and prevent angiogenesis, i.e., the formation in cancer cells of capillary vessels providing the oxygen and nutrients needed for small tumors to grow and reproduce [ 44 ].…”

“…It is not yet fully understood why anthocyanins have low bioavailability, and thus, this could be seen as a major limitation of the potential efficacy of fruit chemo preventive interventions outside the gastrointestinal tract. However, because about 60% of ingested anthocyanins reach the colon and come into direct contact with the gastrointestinal epithelium, it may explain why antocian-containing berries act as protection against gastrointestinal cancer [ 44 ].…”

Black Raspberries Suppress Colorectal Cancer by Enhancing Smad4 Expression in Colonic Epithelium and Natural Killer Cells

“…However, inositol derived from food can modulate PI3K signaling in NK cells (24). In addition, foodderived nutrients and bioactive components are metabolized in the gut, where they are transformed into compounds whose biological activities differ from those of the parental compounds (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33).…”