Chemopreventive Effects of Minor Dietary Constituents in Common Foods on Human Cancer Cells

Epidemiological evidence has sugged that vegetables and fruits may have a role in cancer prevention. The aim of the present study was to examine the anti-proliferative activity of ten related pure compounds from common vegetables and fruits. Studies were conducted on a series of carcinoma cells derived from eight human organs. The results show that linalool possessed the strongest activity against nine carcinoma cells, and that baicalein and luteolin also exhibited a broad spectrum of anti-proliferative activities. Among them, linalool showed the strongest activity against carcinoma of the cervix (IC₅₀: 0.37 μg/ml), stomach (IC₅₀: 14.1 μg/ml), skin (IC₅₀: 14.9 μg/ml), lung (IC₅₀: 21.5 μg/ml) and bone (IC₅₀: 21.7 μg/ml). As for the flavonoids, luteolin exhibited the strongest activity against carcinoma of the stomach (IC₅₀: 7.1 μg/ml), cervix (IC₅₀: 7.7 μg/ml), lung (IC₅₀: 11.7 μg/ml) and bladder (IC₅₀: 19.5 μg/ml), whereas baicalein possessed the strongest anti-proliferative activity against carcinoma of the cervix (IC₅₀: 9.8 μg/ml), stomach (IC₅₀: 16.1 μg/ml) and skin (IC₅₀: 19.5 μg/ml). The present study indicates that linalool possessed the strongest activity against a broad spectrum of carcinoma cells, especially cervical carcinoma cells, suggesting that linalool and flavonoids are partially responsible for the cancer prevention of common vegetables and fruits.