The development of dietary agents for chemoprevention is a highly attractive anticancer strategy, because of the-long-standing exposure of humans to compounds of this type, their relative lack of toxicity, and the existence of encouraging epidemiological clues. Polyphenols present in the diet are, for example, receiving increasing interest as chemopreventive agents because of the epidemiological association between nutrients rich in polyphenols and the prevention of diseases like cancer and stroke, (1,2,3). In Sardinia, Onopordum illyricum L. (“cardo maggiore”, a type of thistle) is used as a vegetable, young scapes and capitula being eaten raw in salad, as well as a medicinal plant because of alleged antiypiyretic or in skin soothing properties (4). Total extracts of different parts of the plant have been analysed by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS in comparison with standards isolated from the natural source and showed a different phytochemical profile, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The sesquiterpene onopordopicrin represents a useful marker for the lipophilic fraction, while caffeoylquinic acids are the main constituents of the polar fraction. We have studied the effects of these dietary compounds on TNFα-induced NF-κB activation in luciferase-based assays. NF-κB is a family of transcription factors involved in the control of a variety of cellular processes, such as immune and inflammatory responses, development, cellular growth, apoptosis and cancer. Indeed, epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between NF-κB inhibition and cancer prevention
Health- promoting potential of Onopordum illyricum L. (Asteraceae).
LOI, MARIA CECILIA
2005-01-01
Abstract
The development of dietary agents for chemoprevention is a highly attractive anticancer strategy, because of the-long-standing exposure of humans to compounds of this type, their relative lack of toxicity, and the existence of encouraging epidemiological clues. Polyphenols present in the diet are, for example, receiving increasing interest as chemopreventive agents because of the epidemiological association between nutrients rich in polyphenols and the prevention of diseases like cancer and stroke, (1,2,3). In Sardinia, Onopordum illyricum L. (“cardo maggiore”, a type of thistle) is used as a vegetable, young scapes and capitula being eaten raw in salad, as well as a medicinal plant because of alleged antiypiyretic or in skin soothing properties (4). Total extracts of different parts of the plant have been analysed by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS in comparison with standards isolated from the natural source and showed a different phytochemical profile, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The sesquiterpene onopordopicrin represents a useful marker for the lipophilic fraction, while caffeoylquinic acids are the main constituents of the polar fraction. We have studied the effects of these dietary compounds on TNFα-induced NF-κB activation in luciferase-based assays. NF-κB is a family of transcription factors involved in the control of a variety of cellular processes, such as immune and inflammatory responses, development, cellular growth, apoptosis and cancer. Indeed, epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between NF-κB inhibition and cancer prevention
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