Polyphenols and Posterior Segment Eye Diseases: Effects on Angiogenesis, Invasion, Migration and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

ABSTRACT Posterior segment eye diseases are a major cause of visual impairment worldwide. If left untreated, most of them lead to partial or complete blindness. The formation of new pathological blood vessels, known as angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and associated with them invasion and migration of cells belong to the mechanisms responsible for the development of these ocular disorders. Polyphenols, whose sources are fruits and vegetables, have a lot of pro-health properties, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidative activity. This review discusses anti-angiogenic, anti-invasive, anti-migratory activities of individual polyphenolic compounds and their ability to inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition in posterior segment eye diseases. The results of studies presented in this paper show that polyphenols may be an effective and safe component of the human diet used to limit the development and progression of posterior segment eye diseases.