الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. Approximately 560,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and around 550,000 deaths due to liver cancer occur mostly in developing countries. The vast majority of HCC cases are attributed to underlying hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infection, but several other risk factors, e.g., excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, food additives, aflatoxins, air and water pollutants, iron overload as well as environmental and chemical carcinogens are also involved in its etiology. Natural phytochemicals and metabolites from plants are receiving increasing attention for their pharmacological effects in prevention and treatment of cancer. Spices have chemical constituents that have antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic substances that can modulate initiation and inhibition of carcinogenesis. Elettaria cardamomum (Family Zingiberaceae), cardamom, is popularly known as Queen of Spices. It is widely used for culinary purposes and traditionally for treating various gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neuronal disorders. Cardamom has antioxidant properties and can increase levels of glutathione and antioxidant enzymes in the body. |