Flavonoids as promising anticancer therapeutics: Contemporary research, nanoantioxidant potential, and future scope

Abstract

Flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds considered safe, pleiotropic, and readily available molecules. It is widely distributed in various food products such as fruits and vegetables and beverages such as green tea, wine, and coca‐based products. Many studies have reported the anticancer potential of flavonoids against different types of cancers, including solid tumors. The chemopreventive effect of flavonoids is attributed to various mechanisms, including modulation of autophagy, induction of cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and antioxidant defense. Despite of significant anticancer activity of flavonoids, their clinical translation is limited due to their poor biopharmaceutical attributes (such as low aqueous solubility, limited permeability across the biological membranes (intestinal and blood‐brain barrier), and stability issue in biological systems). A nanoparticulate system is an approach that is widely utilized to improve the biopharmaceutical performance and therapeutic efficacy of phytopharmaceuticals. The present review discusses the significant anticancer potential of promising flavonoids in different cancers and the utilization of nanoparticulate systems to improve their nanoantioxidant activity further to enhance the anticancer activity of loaded promising flavonoids. Although, various plant‐derived secondary metabolites including flavonoids have been recommended for treating cancer, further vigilant research is warranted to prove their translational values.

Progress in the Regulation of Immune Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment by Bioactive Compounds of Traditional Chinese Medicine

“…Flavonoids are a class of polyphenolic compounds widely found in a variety of plants [21]. Flavonoids are plant-based compounds with antioxidant and anti-cancer potentials [22]. These bioactive compounds have been shown to modulate the TME in a variety of tumors (Table 1).…”

Sirtuins as Players in the Signal Transduction of Citrus Flavonoids

“…The first group includes primary metabolites involved in plant growth, development, reproduction, and metabolism, while the second one consists of secondary metabolites, which are able to protect plants from injury and diseases [33]. Among the latter, flavonoids are largely studied for their capability to protect and mitigate several diseases, exerting many different biological effects such as cardio-protective [34], anti-cancer [35,36], neuroprotective [37], antioxidant [38], and anti-obesity effects, as well as their role in the management of insulin resistance [39,40]. Interestingly, several scientific reports highlighted the beneficial effects of flavonoids contained in both Citrus fruits and their juices that, together with their byproducts [41], represent a real treasure for human health [42,43], for their capability to target multiple molecular targets [44][45][46][47].…”