Plant Metabolites may Protect Human Cells against Radiation-associated Damage: An Integrative Review

Abstract

The human body is exposed to natural sources of ionizing radiation including cosmic rays, radionuclides disposed on the Earth's crust, air, water, and food. In addition, man-made radiation sources for military and civil purposes such as the use of radiation in health care, medical procedures in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, scientific researches, and energy production can contribute to the increased exposure and may affect the human cells. Many derivatives of plant extracts or genetically modified plants have been employed as radiomodifiers as they are compounds that can modify the biological response to the damage induced by the radiation. On the other hand, radiomodulators can be used for varied medical applications such as radioprotection and radiosensitization of tumor cells. This chapter aims to identify, analyze, and synthesize results of independent studies through an integrative review, which evaluated the protective effects of plant metabolites on cell injury caused by radiation therapy against cancer and high doses of radiation exposure.