ABSTRACT
The dietary factors act as protectors by enhancing cellular free radical scavenging systems or modifying lipid peroxidation. The results support the notion that free radicals play an important role in carcinogenesis and that dietary factors can serve as cancer preventing agents. Studies in cell cultures have shown that transformation of cells by direct exposure to radiation or chemicals is associated with the activation of dominant transforming genes which specify many of the malignant traits of the cells. In recent years, increasing evidence has implicated free radical mechanisms in the initiation and promotion of malignant transformation in vivo and in vitro. The role of free radicals in the carcinogenic process can be inferred from the protective action of agents which attenuate free radical reactions at different stages of the oxidative process. However, their role in carcinogenesis can further be evaluated by exposing the cells to the direct action of ozone, an active form of ozone and a powerful oxidant.
