Evidence mapPaperPMID 42197012Full record

ReviewNutrients2026

Dietary Antioxidants and Redox Signaling in Cancer Prevention: Mechanistic Insights and Metabolic Inflammation.

Viorel Ispas, Viviana Maggio, Hibo Said Hassan, Asya Ilayda Sayilgan, Faadumaqamar Mahamed Hassan, Sorina Ispas, Manfredi Rizzo

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Nutrients, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Viorel IspasDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, "Ovidius" University, 900470 Constanta, Romania.
Viviana MaggioDepartment of Health Promotion Sciences Maternal and Infantile Care, Internal Medicine and Medicinal Specialties (PROMISE), School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy.
Hibo Said HassanDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, "Ovidius" University, 900470 Constanta, Romania.
Asya Ilayda SayilganDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, "Ovidius" University, 900470 Constanta, Romania.
Faadumaqamar Mahamed HassanDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, "Ovidius" University, 900470 Constanta, Romania.
Sorina IspasDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of General Medicine, "Ovidius" University, 900470 Constanta, Romania.ORCID 0009-0000-3401-1232
Manfredi RizzoDepartment of Health Promotion Sciences Maternal and Infantile Care, Internal Medicine and Medicinal Specialties (PROMISE), School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9549-8504

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oxidative stress is an important component of cancer biology and is characterized by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense systems. Excess ROS can cause molecular damage and genomic instability; at the same time, ROS signaling remains necessary for normal cellular function. Redox homeostasis is of particular importance in this balance. The aim of this structured narrative review was to summarize and critically discuss current evidence on how dietary antioxidants influence redox-sensitive pathways involved in cancer prevention, with particular attention to metabolic inflammation, mitochondrial quality control, and gut microbiota-related mechanisms. We performed a structured literature search of Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, focusing on articles published between 2021 and 2026. The evidence covered major redox-sensitive pathways, including Nrf2-Keap1-ARE signaling, AMPK-mTOR regulation, NF-κB-mediated inflammation, mitochondrial quality control (autophagy and mitophagy), and inflammasome activation. These pathways, which are involved in tumor initiation and progression, link oxidative stress to metabolic and inflammatory processes. Current evidence suggests that dietary antioxidants act primarily by supporting endogenous defense systems. This may help explain the "antioxidant paradox", in which antioxidant-rich dietary patterns are associated with a lower risk of cancer. In some studies, high-dose supplementation with isolated antioxidants has produced inconsistent or sometimes adverse results. These effects depend on dose, chemical form, metabolic context, and baseline redox state. The gut microbiota is also an important mediator of antioxidant bioactivity; by converting dietary polyphenols into bioactive metabolites, it can influence systemic redox balance and metabolic signaling. This microbiota-dependent modulation may partially explain inter-individual variability in responses to dietary interventions. In conclusion, dietary antioxidants should be considered as modulators of redox-sensitive signaling networks, not merely as simple radical scavengers. Personalized modulation of redox homeostasis is a future strategy for cancer prevention, with a greater emphasis on whole-diet and biomarker-guided approaches.

Indexed as

AntioxidantsDietInflammationNeoplasmsSignal TransductionAnimalsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansMitochondriaOxidation-ReductionOxidative StressReactive Oxygen SpeciesAntioxidantsReactive Oxygen Speciescancer preventiondietary antioxidantsgut microbiotainflammasomemetabolic inflammationNrf2 signalingoxidative stressreactive oxygen speciesredox homeostasis

Identifiers

PMID42197012
PMCPMC13209589

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.