Pelargonidin, a Dietary Anthocyanidin in the Prevention of Colorectal Cancer and Its Chemoprotective Mechanisms

Diseases of bowl wall mucosa stemming from sudden mutation lead to the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells by the transformation of normal epithelial cells into neoplastic lesions. CRC is considered to be a global burden; hence, its incidence rate is expeditiously increased up to ten-fold higher, worldwide. The epidemiological report pinpointed CRC as the utmost third common malignancy in men and second in women. Because of greater efficacy, the synthetic drugs are unsatisfactory due to higher toxic effects to the normal cells, and a chance of developing multidrug resistance by tumor cells. Therefore, dietary flavonoids with potent anticarcinogenic effects have been focused on recent investigations. Pelargonidin (PD), a bioactive molecule classified under anthocyanidin is present in red and pink pigmented berries. PD efficiently modulates intercellular antioxidant status, thereby reducing oxidative DNA damage, cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and reverse drug resistance of metastatic cells, and potentially induces cell cycle arrest, thereby interfering in colorectal carcinogenesis. PD scavenges and normalizes the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which results in gene mutation and induction of colon carcinogenesis. Therefore, the proliferation of tumor cells would be affected or blocked potentially due to disturbance in cell cycle protein by these ROS. Considering the wide pharmacological benefits of PD, this chapter deliberately reviews the cumulative research data from in vitro human colon cancer cell line studies on chemoprotective property of PD against CRC, and also summarizes the underlying mechanism in experimental models.