ISHS Acta Horticulturae 744: I International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables
CITRUS LIMONOIDS ARE UNIQUE AND EFFECTIVE ANTICANCER AGENTS |
| Authors: | E.D. Harris, S.M. Poulose, B. Patil |
| Keywords: | phytochemicals, health-promoting, apoptosis induction, neuroblastoma cells |
| Abstract:
Although functional only as secondary metabolites in citrus, a class of compounds called limonoids is a family of molecules that have powerful cancer prevention and possibly cancer therapeutic application in human medicine. Postulated to protect plants and fruits from marauding insects and other herbivores, limonoids have the capacity to arrest growth and induce apoptosis in several cancer cell lines in culture. This devastating action is not seen in non-cancerous mammalian epithelial cells. Unbeknown at this time is the mechanism of their fatal action on cancer cells. In this paper, we will review the evidence for limonoid’s selective anticancer properties and speculate on the structural features in the molecule that give it this unique action. | |
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