Antimutagenic and cancer preventive potential of culinary spices and their bioactive compounds

Spices significantly contribute to human health through their bioactives. They exert multiple health-beneficial influences including anti-cancer potential. Among natural chemopreventive bioactives capable of inhibiting, retarding, or reversing the multi-stage carcinogenesis, considerable attention has been focused in recent decades on spice derived phytochmicals. Spices with proven anticarcinogenic effects in animal models of cancer include turmeric, garlic, ginger, and black cumin. These spices showed chemopreventive effects against cancers of the skin, forestomach, pancreas, liver, colon, and oral cancer in experimental models. Bioactives of these spices reduce oxidative stress by decreasing free radicals concentration, impede cell division and promote apoptosis in cancerous cells. Additionally, they regulate inflammation and immunocompetence, contributing to cancer prevention. The anticancer potential of curcumin has also been evidenced in clinical studies. Curcumin of turmeric is understood to impede carcinogenesis at all three stages. Curcumin's anticarcinogenic effect is partly mediated through its inhibition of the transcription factor NFkB and inhibition of proinflammatory pathways. Curcumin induces apoptosis, suppress proliferation and angiogenesis. Use of spices as food adjuncts is a promising approach to reduce the risk of cancer. Although the cancer preventive effects have not been conclusively proven in humans, these spices deserve to be considered as nutraceuticals for deriving anticancer influences.