Bifunctional Antidiabetic - Anticancer Dual - Active Phytochemicals: Adjuncts or Alternatives to Conventional Therapies

Abstract

Plants owe their various pharmacological properties to their active phytochemical components. Phytochemicals are bioactive chemicals or secondary metabolites products of plants, which play important roles in plant defense mechanisms. The major groups of these compounds, also known to be very protective in humans and animals, include phytosterols, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, carotenoids, aromatic acids, organic acids, essential oils and protease inhibitors. These phytochemicals have demonstrated significant antioxidant activities through scavenging free radicals, quenching ROS, and inhibiting oxidative enzymes. They play important roles against the initiation, formation and sustenance of oxidative stress. Apart from their roles in oxidative stress, some phytochemicals are known to have direct specific antidiabetic and anticancer activities, and modulate the signal transduction pathways common to both diseases. The aim of this review is to describe the antidiabetic and anticancer dual-roles of these phytochemicals, and highlight their importance in the management of diabetic patients with concurrent cancer illness and cancer patients with glucose intolerance. This review equally aims to compare the intended use of these phytochemicals as adjuncts or alternatives to conventional antidiabetics and anticancer agents.