The vital effect of polyphenols on miRNA expression in cancer therapy

Polyphenols are the most bioactive phytochemicals that are widely distributed in the human diet with beneficial health properties. Much interest is given to the efficient anti-carcinogenic effect of polyphenols mediated by their ability to control several important molecular pathways contributed in the carcinogenesis process. The epigenetic modifications and molecular alterations which link polyphenols to the carcinogenesis process is an interest area of research. Polyphenols can effectively modify gene expression and consequently the downstream pathways through modulating the expression of several miRNAs. MiRNAs are reported to be a main player in the regulation of many fundamental cellular processes including cancer development, therefore they mediate the anti-cancer effect of most therapeutics. In this book, we tried to elucidate the potential efficiency of different classes and sub-classes of polyphenols in modulating the expression of miRNAs in different cancer types, and whether this modulation was associated with the anti-carcinogenic effect of these polyphenols.