Prevention of Polyphenols Against Carcinogenesis Induced by Environmental Carcinogens

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in humans. Of all cancers, 19% are attributed to exposure to environmental chemical carcinogens. Dietary polyphenols from teas, vegetables, fruits, and many others exhibit multiple activities against cancers. Exposure to environmental carcinogens such as ultraviolet B (UVB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals has been demonstrated to cause cancer in humans. In this article, we specifically select UVB, PAHs, and metals as representative of three types of environmental carcinogens: physical, organic, and inorganic, respectively. We provide a comprehensive review on the role of various dietary polyphenols against carcinogenesis induced by those three types of carcinogens. We summarize the current knowledge of and prospects for prevention of those three groups of carcinogens induced by dietary polyphenols in vitro and in vivo.