Avocado (Persea americana Mill) and its phytoconstituents: potential for cancer prevention and intervention

Abstract

Dietary compounds, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spices, have been shown to exhibit anticancer properties due to their high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and secondary metabolites, known as phytochemicals. Although emerging studies suggest that avocado (Persea americana Mill) displays antineoplastic properties in addition to numerous other health benefits, current literature lacks an updated comprehensive systematic review dedicated to the anticancer effects of avocado. This review aims to explore the cancer-preventive effects of avocados and the underlying molecular mechanisms. The in vitro studies suggest the various avocado-derived products and phytochemicals induced cytotoxicity, reduced cell viability, and inhibited cell proliferation. The in vivo studies revealed reduction in tumor number, size, and volume as well. The clinical studies demonstrated that avocado leaf extract increased free oxygen radical formation in larynx carcinoma tissue. Various avocado products and phytochemicals from the avocado fruit, including avocatin-B, persin, and PaDef defensin, may serve as viable cancer prevention and treatment options based on current literature. Despite many favorable outcomes, past research has been limited in scope, and more extensive and mechanism-based in vivo and randomized clinical studies should be performed before avocado-derived bioactive phytochemicals can be developed as cancer preventive agents.

Keywords:

• Avocado
• phytochemicals
• cancer
• prevention
• therapeutic effects
• molecular mechanisms

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to various investigators whose work has been cited in this work. The authors also regret not being able to include every relevant article due to space limitation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2023.2290853)

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.