Alterations of endothelial cells and the vasculature play a central role in the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of the most dreadful of human diseases, as endothelial cells have the key function of participating in the maintenance of patent and functional capillaries. The endothelium is directly involved in peripheral vascular disease, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, insulin resistance, chronic kidney failure, tumor growth, metastasis, venous thrombosis, and severe viral infectious diseases. Dysfunction of the vascular endothelium is thus a hallmark of human diseases. In this review the main endothelial abnormalities found in various human diseases such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, and viral infections are addressed.

The health benefits of green tea for a wide variety of ailments, including different types of cancer, heart disease, and liver disease, were reported. Many of these beneficial effects of green tea are related to its catechin, particularly (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, content. There is evidence from in vitro and animal studies on the underlying mechanisms of green tea catechins and their biological actions. There are also human studies on using green tea catechins to treat metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Epidemiological investigations have shown that overcoming the risk of cancer is related to the consumption of green vegetables and fruits. Many compounds from different origins, such as terrestrial plants and marine and microbial sources, have been reported to have therapeutic effects of which marine sources are the most important because the diversity of marine life is more varied than other sources. Fucoxanthin is one important compound with a marine origin and belongs to the group of carotenoids; it can be found in marine brown seaweeds, macroalgae, and diatoms, all of which have remarkable biological properties. Numerous studies have shown that fucoxanthin has considerable medicinal potential and promising applications in human health. In this review, we summarize the anticancer effects of fucoxanthin through several different mechanisms including anti-proliferation, induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and anti-angiogenesis, and its possible role in the treatment of cancer.