Flavonoids: Promising anticancer agents

Abstract

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are ubiquitously in plants. They have been shown to possess a variety of biological activities at nontoxic concentrations in organisms. The role of dietary flavonoids in cancer prevention is widely discussed. Compelling data from laboratory studies, epidemiological investigations, and human clinical trials indicate that flavonoids have important effects on cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. Many mechanisms of action have been identified, including carcinogen inactivation, antiproliferation, cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis and differentiation, inhibition of angiogenesis, antioxidation and reversal of multidrug resistance or a combination of these mechanisms. Based on these results, flavonoids may be promising anticancer agents. ß

Evaluation of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of solvent extracts of Anacyclus pyrethrum L., from Algeria

“…The phenolic and flavonoid compounds are commonly found in plants and have been reported to have several biological activities including antioxidant and antimicrobial properties 10,11 . The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of A. pyrethrum extracts from different solvents were examined and are presented in Table 1.…”

A conformational study of hydroxyflavones by vibrational spectroscopy coupled to DFT calculations

“…In the last decade, the beneficial properties of phytochemicals have lead to a vigorous search for novel antioxidants from natural sources, involving the nutritional, pharmacological and medicinal chemistry fields [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], with particular emphasis on the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular distress through the consumption of this kind of nutraceuticals in the daily diet [17][18][19][20]. Accordingly, special attention has been paid to phenolic acids, anthocyanins, coumarins, tannins and flavonoids (including flavones and isoflavones), the latter being the largest group among phytochemicals [21].…”

Selective Toxicity of Persian Gulf Sea Squirt (Phallusia nigra) Extract on Isolated Mitochondria Obtained from Liver Hepatocytes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Induced Rat

“…*** Denotes P < 0.001 Compared to the Corresponding Control (Extract Concentration = "0 µg/mL"). *** Indicates Results Compared to 500 µg/mL Extract + HCC cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis, or a combination of these mechanisms (25,26).…”