Polyphenols are plant metabolites with potent anti-oxidant properties, which help to reduce the effects of oxidative stress-induced dreaded diseases. The evidence demonstrated that dietary polyphenols are of emerging increasing scientific interest due to their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases in humans. Possible health beneficial effects of polyphenols are based on the human cons...

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food", as said by the father of medicine, Hippocrates in 431 B.C. Nature has provided us with a variety of treatment modalities in the form of food. For the first 5,000 years of civilization, humans relied on herbs and foods for medicine. Only in the past 60 years have we forgotten our medicinal "roots" in favor of patented medicines. While pharmace...

Meso-zeaxanthin was investigated for antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activity, using the Ames test (Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98, TA 100, TA 102 and TA 1535) with direct acting mutagens like sodium azide (NaN3) (5 μg/ plate), nitro-o-phenylendiamin (NPD) (20 μg/ plate), N-methyl- N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) (1μg/ plate) and tobacco extract 50 mg/ plate) and with a mutagen need...

The aim of this study was to investigate cytotoxic effect of Satureja khuzistanica and Zataria multiflora essential oils on PBMC and K562 cell lines growth inhibition. The plant essential oils were extracted by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC-MS. In addition, the total phenol content and antioxidant activity of oils were assessed.  The PBMC and K562 cell lines were cultu...

Tumor-initiating properties of complete carcinogens such as 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) are well known but not the mechanism of DMBA-mediated tumor promotion. Our hypothesis is that interleukin (IL)-1alpha, an early proinflammatory cytokine that initiates a cascade of other cytokines and growth factors, is up-regulated by DMBA and contributes to inflammation and carcinogenesis. We fou...