Benefits of Phenolic Compounds Isolated from Olive Oil on Prevention of Cancer
Traditional Mediterranean Diet has been long known to have many health benefits. The diet is associated by the low percentage of certain types of cancers such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer and prostate cancer. The main source of fats in the Mediterranean diet is olive oil. In fact, the beneficial health effects of olive oil were attributed to its phenolic compounds like phenolic alcohols, hydroxytyrosol (3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol) and their secoiridoid derivatives (oleocanthal). Several studies have demonstrated that hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthal are able to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in different tumor cell lines. The aim of this review was to give an overview of the effect of hydroxytyrosol and –oleocanthal on different types of cancer.