**4.2 Anticarcinogenic/antitumoral activity**

The critical success factor in cancer chemoprevention is the capacity of the agent to selectively inhibit proliferation and/or induce apoptosis in malignant cells, preserving normal cells. Pomegranate, consumed as whole fruit, juice, or any form of derivates, possess anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, and/or anti-angiogenic effects superior to those observed with their isolated active compounds, suggesting therapeutic strategies that may depart from preference for pure single agents. There are several publications on the anticarcinogenic effects of pomegranate (Ahmed et al., 2005; Jeune et al., 2005; Malik et al., 2005; Syed et al., 2007; Lansky & Newman, 2007; Hajimahmoodi et al., 2008; Jurenka, 2008, Sartippour et al. 2008; Adams et al., 2010; Adhami et al., 2010; Faria & Calhau, 2010,2011; Miguel et al., 2010). Therefore, due to the vast explosion of interest in pomegranate as a functional food and therapeutic source the present work is launched to make a review that highlights anticarcinogenic activity of pomegranate and its products of recently published works.
