Dietary Intake of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate against Aging and Cancers: Nanoencapsulation of Multi- Rings Still Requires New Rounds!

Dietary Intake of (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate against Aging and Cancers: Nanoencapsulation of Multi- Rings Still Requires New Rounds!

Polyphenols, a superfamily of naturally occurring phytochemicals, are gaining popularity because of their potential health benefits. Indeed, as demonstrated in ex-vivo and in non-primates models, they exert variable and pleiotropic biological effects (e.g. anti- or pro-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, anti-aging) depending on their structure and physicochemical features. However, these effects are often limited Carnauba wax by their overall unstability and bioavailability. The fact that some polyphenols act either as anti-oxidants (e.g. against aging) or as pro-oxidants (e.g. against tumors/cancers), remain an unsolved paradigm. Interestingly, emergent studies suggest that nano-encapsulated polyphenols might overcome some limitations frequently observed with dietary bulk-polyphenols (e.g. bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, targeting, efficacy, toxicity and safety), subsequently potentiating their biological effects. In this context, the case of (-)-epigallocatechin- 3-gallate (EGCG) is quite intriguing.