Dietary
polyphenols are
antioxidants that can scavenge
biological free radicals, and chemoprevent diseases with
biological oxidation as their main etiological factor. In this paper, we review our laboratory data vis-ὰ-vis available literature on
prostate cancer chemopreventive substances in Nigerian foodstuffs. Dacryodes edulis fruit, Moringa oleifera and Syzygium aromaticum contained prostate active
polyphenols like
ellagic acid, gallate, methylgallate,
catechol,
kaempferol quercetin and their derivatives. Also Canarium schweinfurthii Engl oil contained ten phenolic compounds and
lignans, namely;
catechol,
p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, dihydroxyphenylacetic
acid,
tyrosol, p-
hydroxybenzoic acid,
dihydroxybenzoic acid,
vanillic acid,
phloretic acid,
pinoresinol,
secoisolariciresinol. In addition, tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) which contains the powerful
antioxidant and anti-
prostate cancer agent,
lycopene; cabbage (Brassica oleracea) containing
indole-3-
carbinol; citrus fruits containing
pectin; Soursop (Annona muricata) containing
annonaceous acetogenins; soya beans (Glycine max) containing
isoflavones; chilli pepper (Capsicum annuum) containing
capsaicin, and
green tea (Camellia sinensis) containing (-)
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)
epicatechin, (-)
epicatechin-3-gallate and (-)
epigallocatechin -3-gallate which are widely reported to posses
prostate cancer chemopreventive compounds are also grown in Nigeria and other African countries. Thus, the high incidence of
prostate cancer among males of African extraction can be dramatically reduced, and the age of onset drastically increased, if the population at risk consumes the right kinds of foods in the right proportion, beginning early in life, especially as
prostate cancer has a latency period of about 50 years.