There has been increasing interest in finding natural antioxidants to prevent free radical damage and retard the progress of chronic inflammatory diseases. Our previous data demonstrated the strong antioxidant properties of polyphenolics in Mamao seed (MS) and Mamao marc (MM) extracts. In this study we further investigated the effect of MS and MM polyphenolics on hydrogen peroxide (H ₂O ₂)-induced apoptosis and tumour promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation, using human breast epithelial (MCF10A) cells. MS and MM extracts conferred dose-dependent protection against H ₂O ₂-induced apoptosis by inhibiting PARP/caspase-3 cleavage, inducing anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression, and down-regulating pro-apoptotic Bax. Moreover, MS and MM polyphenolics inhibited TPA-induced COX-2 and NF-κB activation by blocking the degradation of cytoplasmic IκBα, as well as subsequent nuclear translocation of p65 and attenuation of the activation of ERK, but not JNK and p38. These data establish the molecular mechanism for the anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of MS and MM polyphenolics.