Polyphenol chlorogenic acid, antioxidant profile, and breast cancer

Abstract Chlorogenic acid (CGA), also known as 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, is a polyphenol commonly found in human dietary products, especially in coffee beans. Polyphenols act as curative compounds against oxidative stress, which play an active role in the pathophysiology of many diseases including cancer. CGA activates endogenous antioxidant systems to defense and scavenge against free radicals. It enhances Nrf2 translocation from cytosol to the nucleus; thereby activating antioxidant gene sets to cytoprotection against cellular toxicity. Many studies have reported that CGA supplementation improves the treatment of oxidative damage and the formation of free radicals in advanced animal models of several chronic and metabolic diseases. Molecular simulations demonstrated evidence for the strong antioxidant activity of chlorogenic acid with its hydrogen-donating properties. Moreover, CGA treatment showed similar efficacy on different receptor types of breast cancer, which is an important point for developing a common therapeutic agent against the subtypes of this disease. In these studies, CGA inhibited cancer phenotype characteristics by inhibition of β-catenin of the Wnt signaling pathway. All of the cited studies provide evidence for potential therapeutic usage of CGA against breast cancer and as a potent antioxidant molecule CGA can be used for innovative phytotherapeutic formulations.