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About the Authors:
Tzu-Chun Cheng
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Ching-Shu Lai
Affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Min-Ching Chung
Affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Nagabhushanam Kalyanam
Affiliation: Sabinsa Corporation, East Windsor, New Jersey, United States of America
Muhammed Majeed
Affiliation: Sabinsa Corporation, East Windsor, New Jersey, United States of America
Chi-Tang Ho
Affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America
Yuan-Soon Ho
* E-mail: [email protected] (YSH); [email protected] (MHP)
Affiliations Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, School of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Min-Hsiung Pan
* E-mail: [email protected] (YSH); [email protected] (MHP)
Affiliations Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
Introduction
Epidemiological studies provide convincing evidence that dietary factors can modify the processes of carcinogenesis, including initiation, promotion, and progression of several types of human cancer [1]. Cancer chemoprevention is the use of pharmacological or natural agents to inhibit the development of invasive cancer or reverse the process of carcinogenesis. It could be the most direct process to reduce morbidity and mortality from cancerous disease [2]–[4]. A large number of chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents, from natural products, have been used as a promising strategy to fight against cancer by inducing apoptosis in malignant cells [5], [6].
Pterostilbene (trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4′-hydroxystilbene), a dimethylether analogue of resveratrol, is found to be as effective as resveratrol in preventing carcinogen-induced preneoplastic lesions in a mouse mammary culture model and inhibits metastatic growth of melanoma cells to the liver [7], [8]. We and others have shown that pterostilbene exhibits pleiotropic pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-cancer, and pain-relieving activities in cell culture and animal studies [9]–[14]. Recently, 3′-hydroxypterostilbene (Fig. 1), a new natural pterostilbene analogue has been isolated from Sphaerophysa salsula, is markedly more active than pterostilbene in inducing apoptosis in sensitive and resistant leukemia...