Phytochemicals as radioprotective agentsA Review

The development of radioprotective agents has been a subject of intense research in view of their potential for use within a radiation environment, such as space exploration, radiotherapy and even nuclear war. Since no ideal, safe synthetic radioprotectors are available to date, the search for alternative sources, including plants, has been on-going for several decades. In the Traditional Indian system of medicine, several plants have been used to treat radiation-mediated ailments. A systematic screening approach can only provide leads to identify potential new molecular entities from plant sources, for mitigation of radiation injury. This article reviews the milestones in development of radioprotectors with emphasis on perspectives of variety of plants, their bioactive principles and several alternative approaches tested in in vitro and in vivo model systems for radioprotection. With an overview of our own work carried out in this area, this review highlights the unique inherent properties in plants and the phytochemicals that aid in preventing free radical-induced oxidative stress during radiation therapy. The structural characteristics of these phytochemicals, rendering them suitable for radioprotection, have also been discussed, with the scope of their applications in the fields involving imbalanced redox status and oxidative stress.