Food Science Research on Anticancer Effects of Fat-soluble Nutrients

(Young Investigator Award of JSNFS (2017) )

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan, and the number of deaths due to cancer is increasing year by year. We have investigated the anti-cancer effects of fat-soluble dietary components and their mechanisms of action. Since high telomerase activity is detected in most tumor tissues, telomerase represents an attractive target for cancer therapy. Screening of telomerase regulators from dietary lipids has led to the discovery of sulfur-containing glycolipid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocotrienol, and glycated lipid. In addition, synergistic anti-cancer effects (cell growth inhibition via G1 arrest and telomerase suppression) of rice bran oil components have been revealed. The present review gives details of these studies, with an emphasis on the effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and glycated lipid on telomerase modulation and the synergistic effect of rice bran oil components on cancer cell growth.