Table 1.

Selection of in vivo and in vitro studies on the health/biochemical properties of various phenolic acids.

Health Disease	Phenolic Treatment & Conditions	Conclusion of Study/Health Effect	References
ANTICANCER PROTECTION	Effect of Thymoquinone (TQ-25 µM) and FA (250 µM) on proliferation and apoptosis of a breast cancer cell line MDA-MB 231.	FA in combination with TQ significantly reduced cell proliferation/anticancer effect	[55]
	Human EC cells (EC9706 and KYSE450) were treated with different concentrations (10–40 μg/mL) of GA	GA reduced the growth of xenograft tumour and promoted apoptosis in a concentration dependent manner.	[57]
	Rats subject to DMBA induced oral carcinogenesis were supplemented with VA (200 mg/kg bw p.o) for 14 weeks	VA significantly restored the disturbances in antioxidants status {superoxide dismutase, catalase) to near normal range in DMBA treated hamsters/anti-cancer effects	[62]
CARDIO-PROTECTION	Male Wistar rats supplemented with either lard at 310 g/kg (HFD) or lard and FA at 2 g/kg (HFD + FA) for 8 weeks.	The rats fed with HFD + FA had significantly lower plasma lipids and glucose levels compared with the HFD group.	[74]
	Daily dietary supplementation of male Wistar rats with Rosemary leaves (11–110 mg) rich in RA	Rosemary attenuated cardiac function improving metabolism & decreasing oxidative stress.	[79]
LIVER PROTECTION	Activity of CA on 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats that received CA (10 or 20 mg/kg bw) for 7 days.	CA protected against hepatotoxicity by enhancing the cytoprotective enzymes and lowering inflammation.	[85]
	Dietary supplementation of fish (Megalobrama amblycephala) with FA at 50–100 mg/kg bw	FA decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines alleviating acute liver injury.	[88]
	Rats exposed to aflatoxin B1AFB1 (75 µg/kg bw) were treated with GA (20 or 40 mg/kg bw) for 28 days.	GA ameliorated AFB1-induced hepatorenal dysfunction by decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation in rats hepatotoxicity.	[89]
	32 rats exposed to hepatic ischaemia/reperfusion injury were subsequently treated with RA dose of 50 mg/kg via oral gavage.	RA significantly reduced oxidative stress and abnormal histopathological findings in liver.	[92]
NEURO-PROTECTION	Systemic administration of neuroinflammatory rat with GA (100 mg/kg)	Clear neuroprotective effect of GA in treated rats compared to placebo	[106]
	Transgenic mice supplemented orally with epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and/or FA (30 mg/kg each) daily for 3 months data	The combined EGCG-FA treatment reversed cognitive impairment, presenting AD therapeutic effect.	[104]
	Dietary supplementation of rats with 500 mg/kg body weight) of methanolic extracts of Salvia splendens (rich in RA and CA) for 4 weeks	The treatment significantly attenuated AlCl3-induced behavioral impairment (AD like).	[111]
	VA was tested against Fe2+- induced oxidative toxicity in brain tissues (neuronal cell lines—HT22).	VA exerted a clear neuroprotective activity.	[109]

CA: caffeic acid, FA: ferulic acid, GA: gallic acid, RA: rosmarinic acid, VA: vanillic acid, bw: body weight, AD: Alzheimer’s disease.