Title:Recommendation to Consume Plant Products for their Health Benefits
may Take a Different Perspective with Global Warming
Volume: 19
Issue: 8
Author(s): Katrin Sak*
Affiliation:
- NGO Praeventio, Tartu, Estonia
Keywords:
Cancer incidence, plant-based diet, fruits and vegetables, flavonoids, chemoprevention, anticancer action, global warming, global climate change.
Abstract: Over the past few decades, the multifaceted anticancer action of various plant-derived
flavonoids has been demonstrated both in in vitro and in vivo preclinical experiments as well as
in clinical trials and large-scale epidemiological studies. These secondary metabolites, synthesized
in plants in response to different environmental stresses, can exert diverse biological activities
in the human body after ingestion of plant-based foods. Flavonoids are indeed well-known
for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, anti-migratory, antiinvasive,
anti-metastatic, and anti-angiogenic properties, thereby preventing and slowing the development
of different types of human cancers. Accordingly, more and more people all over the
world have increased their everyday intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and spices to get
the benefits of flavonoids. In this commentary article, a critical view is presented on the possible
gradual decrease in the health-promoting effects of edible and medicinal plant products related to
changes in their flavonoid content and composition as a consequence of global warming. It is indeed
generally accepted that biosynthesis and accumulation of certain flavonoids can be higher
in plants cultivated in colder conditions, while a high temperature may even block the production
of these agents. It only remains to be determined in the future as to what extent the lowering of
flavonoids content in plant-based diets during global warming can contribute to continuously increasing
worldwide incidence of new cancer cases, revealing the actual costs of human-induced
environmental changes.
