Diet sources are closely involved in the pathogenesis of diverse neuropsychiatric disorders and cancers, in addition to inherited factors. Currently, natural products or nutraceuticals (commonly called medical foods) are increasingly employed for adjunctive therapy of these patients. However, the potential molecular mechanisms of the nutrient efficacy remain elusive. In this review, we summarized the neuroprotective and anti-cancer mechanisms of nutraceuticals. It was concluded that the nutraceuticals exerted neuroprotection and suppressed tumor growth possibly through the differential modulations of redox homeostasis. In addition, the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and ROS elimination was manipulated by multiple molecular mechanisms, including cell signaling pathways, inflammation, transcriptional regulation and epigenetic modulation, which were involved in the therapeutic potential of nutraceutical antioxidants against neurological diseases and cancers. We specifically proposed that ROS scavenging was integral in the neuroprotective potential of nutraceuticals, while alternation of ROS level (either increase or decrease) or disruption of redox homeostasis (ROS addiction) constituted the anti-cancer property of these compounds. We also hypothesized that ROS-associated ferroptosis, a novel type of lipid ROS-dependent regulatory cell death, was likely to be a critical mechanism for the nutraceutical antioxidants. Targeting ferroptosis is advantageous to develop new nutraceuticals with more effective and lower adverse reactions for curing patients with neuropsychiatric diseases or carcinomas.

除了遗传因素外，饮食来源还与多种神经精神疾病和癌症的发病机理密切相关。当前，越来越多地将天然产物或营养品（通常称为医疗食品）用于这些患者的辅助治疗。然而，营养功效的潜在分子机制仍然难以捉摸。在这篇综述中，我们总结了保健食品的神经保护和抗癌机制。结论是，营养保健品可能通过氧化还原稳态的不同调节来发挥神经保护作用并抑制肿瘤的生长。此外，活性氧（ROS）产生和ROS消除之间的平衡受多种分子机制控制，包括细胞信号传导途径，炎症，转录调控和表观遗传调控，它们参与了营养保健抗氧化剂对神经系统疾病和癌症的治疗潜力。我们特别提出，清除ROS是营养保健品神经保护潜力不可或缺的，而ROS水平的改变（升高或降低）或氧化还原稳态（ROS成瘾）的破坏构成了这些化合物的抗癌特性。我们还假设，ROS相关的肥大病，一种新型的脂质ROS依赖型调节性细胞死亡，很可能是营养抗氧化剂的关键机制。靶向铁锈病有利于开发具有更有效和更低不良反应的新的营养保健品，以治愈神经精神疾病或癌症患者。它们参与了营养抗氧化剂对神经系统疾病和癌症的治疗潜力。我们特别提出，清除ROS是营养保健品神经保护潜力不可或缺的，而ROS水平的改变（升高或降低）或氧化还原稳态（ROS上瘾）的破坏构成了这些化合物的抗癌特性。我们还假设，ROS相关的肥大病，一种新型的脂质ROS依赖型调节性细胞死亡，很可能是营养抗氧化剂的关键机制。靶向铁锈病有利于开发具有更有效和更低不良反应的新的营养保健品，以治愈神经精神疾病或癌症患者。它们参与了营养抗氧化剂对神经系统疾病和癌症的治疗潜力。我们特别提出，清除ROS是营养保健品神经保护潜力不可或缺的，而ROS水平的改变（升高或降低）或氧化还原稳态（ROS成瘾）的破坏构成了这些化合物的抗癌特性。我们还假设，ROS相关的肥大病，一种新型的脂质ROS依赖型调节性细胞死亡，很可能是营养抗氧化剂的关键机制。靶向铁锈病有利于开发具有更有效和更低不良反应的新的营养保健品，以治愈神经精神疾病或癌症患者。