Piperine: A Savor Inducer and a Cancer Reducer

Abstract

Spices have been used for many decades, and although new and improved culinary spices have been developed, black pepper (<em>Piper nigrum</em>) continues to retain its distinguished title as the <em>“King of spices”</em> due to its particular pungent taste. An alkaloid called piperine is the main component in black pepper that, besides generating the well-known taste, imparts well-documented immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and even anti-cancer properties; these properties have led to rigorous research on black pepper. Studies conducted on cancer cell lines and in animal models with tumors revealed that piperine might influence tumor development and metastasis via various pathways, some of which are quite common for most types of malignant processes, while others are associated with a specific type of cancer. In this review, we summarized the effect of piperine on various types of cancer and the mechanism by which it acts as a carcinopreventive agent.

Michael Acceptors as Anti-Cancer Compounds: Coincidence or Causality?

“…In addition, piperine has been found to have chemopreventive properties, interfering with the development and progression of cancer [145]. It stimulates the immunomodulatory activities of mononuclear cells by producing anti-inflammatory cytokines and inhibiting pro-inflammatory activities, thereby exerting a pronounced anti-cancer effect [146]. Piperine affects cancer cells via several mechanisms, including the modulation of redox homeostasis, inhibition of cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal and the modulation of ER The results of the study highlight the therapeutic potential of these alkaloids in fighting breast cancer by targeting the activation of STAT3, a crucial signaling pathway that plays a role in cancer development [141].…”