Human exposure to environmental toxicants is inevitable, but there is evidence that certain pollutants (e.g. heavy metals and air particulate matter) contribute to major diseases, such as neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease and some cancer types.
Nutrition can be a means of reducing the disease vulnerability associated with environmental exposures. In this work, the potential of dietary polyphenols to modify environmental and occupational toxicant-induced pathologies is discussed. Published data on the effects of flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, resveratrol and other polyphenols in in vitro and in vivo models show that different compounds can modulate key pathological processes implicated in those diseases. Polyphenols can attenuate oxidative stress, inflammatory response, cell death and carcinogenesis, and modulate other specific mechanisms triggered by toxic pollutants, including by the persistent polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
The critical analysis of the current knowledge in this subject at the interface of nutritional and environmental sciences encourages further research. A deeper understanding of toxicants chronic effects and polyphenol protective mechanisms is expected to advise future nutritional intervention studies.