Anticancer Spices

Book excerpt: Humankind has used a variety of spices to flavor food for centuries. However, the chemistry and potential health benefits of these herbs have become clearer only rather recently. Numerous studies performed during the past decades have revealed several advantageous properties of bioactive constituents of various spices, including their anticancer effects. This edited collection summarizes diverse types of anticancer activities of compounds derived from some well-known spices, describing the anticancer mechanisms behind their action and highlighting molecular targets and cellular signaling pathways. It acquaints the reader with the potential anticancer activities of agents contained in laurel, oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, dill, parsley, and several other common spices. These molecular entities could probably be considered as lead structures for further design of more efficient anticancer drugs in the future.