English: Sonjna Moringa oleifera in Kolkata, W...
Sonjna Moringa oleifera in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0/J.M.Garg)

Dietary polyphenols can be both antioxidant and chemopreventive. This article reviews the following Nigerian foods: Dacryodes edulis fruit (bush butter tree), Moringa oleifera, and Syzygium aromaticum (cloves). These contain polyphenols which are active in the prostate: Ellagic acid, gallate, methylgallate, catechol, kaempferol, and quercetin. Canarium schweinfurthi Engl (African elemi) oil contains 10 poyphenols.

The following foods contain chemicals believed to have anti-prostate cancer properties: tomatoes (lycopene), cabbage (indole-3-carbamole), citrus fruits (pectin), graviola or soursop, soybeans (isoflavones, daidzein, and genistein), Capsicum sp. (capsaicin), and Camellia sinensis (EGCG and others).

In this study, it is reported that disease incidence could be reduced in males of African origin if they would consume these foods beginning early in life. Prostate cancer is believed to have a gestation period of about 50 years.

CONCLUSION: There are a number of food plants in Nigeria which contain polyphenols which help prevent prostate cancer. If African males would eat more of these plants and foods early in life, much of suffering from prostate cancer might be prevented.

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PMID: 21992488.

Summary #725.