ABSTRACT
Cakile maritima Scop. has been ingested as a food and used as a traditional medicinal agent in Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia for hundreds of years. Its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anticancer properties and especially well-known. The aerial parts of C. maritima have high antioxidant capacities that have been linked with their therapeutic properties. In particular, C. maritima flavonoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation and induce cell death via multiple mechanisms. Additionally, numerous terpenoids present in C. maritima extracts have been highlighted for their apoptotic and antiproliferative effects. However, despite the traditional uses of C. maritima and the presence of several notable compounds with known anticancer properties, the potential of extracts of this species are yet to be extensively studied, and substantially more work is required. This chapter reviews previous studies into the anticancer properties and phytochemistry of C. maritima to highlight its medicinal potential. Furthermore, we highlight future areas of research with the aim of stimulating studies into the anticancer properties of this species.
