Pankaj Gupta
Functional foods have gained tremendous importance in recent times for their foreseen visualized role in the treatment of various pathologies such as cancer. Functional foods as the name indicates consist of foods that are of nutritional importance and are also involved in resolving the diseased state of the body. They have been reported for their beneficial role in cancer prevention and treatment. Several functional foods that have been obtained from various sources such as plants, animals and microbial sources are reported to possess noticeable anticancer effects with varying mechanisms of action viz. antimetastatic, induction of apoptosis, antiproliferative, antiangiogenic, scavenging of free radicals, inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases etc. Examples of functional foods that evinced anticancer potential include cereals, vegetables, beverages, dairy products, fish oil, beef, mushroom, probiotics etc.