Role of Nutraceuticals on Nrf2 and Its Implication in Cancer Prevention

Abstract

"Nutraceuticals" have recently become a hot topic for the commercial world and the biomedical community. It is postulated that nutraceuticals are relatively non-toxic food supplements with many health benefits including prevention of cancer. Many nutraceuticals are antioxidants by nature; isothiocyanates and polyphenols have been extensively researched in many laboratories including ours. This chapter will cover nutraceuticals from the mechanistic perspectives, and how they would interact with Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), which is the master regulator of the antioxidant response to counteract oxidative stress. Nrf2 deficient (knockout; KO) mice lack response to some nutraceutical cancer chemopreventive agents suggesting the important role of Nrf2 in cancer prevention. Nrf2 is also shown to have protective function against inflammation, a pathological process that is implicated in many diseases including carcinogenesis. Scientific evidence on the role of nutraceuticals on Nrf2 in anti-oxidative stress coupled with anti-inflammatory will also be discussed in this chapter.