Hydroxytyrosol-derived compounds: a basis for the creation of new pharmacological agents for cancer prevention and therapy

Hydroxytyrosol [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)- ethanol, HTyr] is a phenolic compound found in olive leaves and fruits and extra-virgin olive oil, which has well-known strong antioxidant and radical-scavenging properties. Recently, it has received particular attention for its antiproliferative and apoptotic activities and its anti-inflammatory properties. During the past few years, more efforts have been focused on synthesizing HTyr-derived compounds with enhanced biological activities for their potential use in different chronic degenerative diseases. In this paper, we report a dissertation on the current knowledge of selected synthetic HTyr derivatives and analogues and their potential use in cancer prevention and therapy, which are related to their antioxidant, antiproliferative/ apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. On the basis of the perspective of using HTyr-derived compounds as anticancer agents, we have taken into account only studies that were performed in experimental cell-based models.