Anticancer Activities of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) - An Overview

Aims: The target of the present article is to provide a short review of the anticancer and antiproliferative function of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) against various cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Spinach is a significant functional food due to its rich content of vitamins and minerals, along with other bioactive chemical compounds viz., glycoglycerolipids, carotenoids, polyphenols, flavonoids, and many others. The biological applications of spinach have received constant attention in the research field because of its interesting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties.

Discussion: A thorough literature review has disclosed that glycoglycerolipids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds are mainly responsible for the antineoplastic characteristics of dietary spinach. The spinach extracts have demonstrated antitumour character against various malignant cells in vitro and in vivo. The glycoglycerolipids have acted as a remarkable cytotoxic agent on both injection and oral administration in mice. One of the glycolipids present in spinach viz., mono galactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG) has displayed a notable synergistic effect with irradiation resulting in greater shrinkage of tumour size when compared to the isolated application of MGDG and irradiation.

Conclusion: The article delineates the importance of spinach as a functional food with anticancer activity highlighting its importance in the study of new chemotherapeutic drugs.