A study on the mode of action of anticancer bioactive compounds occurring in pomegranate

Introduction: Pomegranate, Iran’s native plant, has recently become of great interest due to its various usages in nutrition and pharmacy. As different parts of pomegranate tree have bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, anthocyanin, conjugates fatty acids and so on, various medicinal effects have been reported as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic and anticancer. \ud Methods: In order to pluralize recent studies on the plant and investigate the mode of action of its bioactive compounds, a library study was done by searching scientific documents. \ud Results: Of 4080 records reported in during 2010 to now, 78 selected and studied according to cancer type. Therefore, it attempted to introduce this profitable plant as well as bioactive compounds found in its different parts including leaves, stem, root, and flower and fruit components, paying attention to their therapeutic effects on cancers. Mode of action for these compounds explained according to prostate, lung, breast, liver cancers and leukemia. \ud Conclusion: The main object was explaining mode of action of the most important bioactive compounds effective in the cancers for promoting research on Iranian pomegranates which have high diversity continuously. Finally, it concluded that pomegranate bioactive compounds could be used as a chemopreventive factor and probably as a therapeutic agent against different human cancers