Epigenetic targets of polyphenols in cancer

Interest in dietary polyphenols has recently increased greatly owing to their antioxidant capacity and their possible beneficial implications in various pathological states, including cancer. Polyphenols are a group of chemicals found in many fruits, vegetables, and plants and have the ability to remove free radicals from the body. In the last 2 decades, the numbers of reports on the potential health benefits of polyphenols have increased. This review provides the available scientific data that justify importance of polyphenols in correlation with epigenetics to fight against carcinogenesis. Epigenetics involves genetic control by mechanisms other than DNA sequence. These epigenetic mechanisms have ability to switch on or off various important genes influencing the process of cancer. Furthermore, due to the reversible nature of these epigenetic mechanisms, they are influenced by a variety of dietary polyphenols. This review focuses on the dietary polyphenols that significantly affect these epigenetic mechanisms to mitigate carcinogenesis.