Role of Natural Stilbenes in the Prevention of Cancer

Abstract

Natural stilbenes are an important group of nonflavonoid phytochemicals of polyphenolic structure characterized by the presence of a 1,2-diphenylethylene nucleus. Stilbenes have an extraordinary potential for the prevention and treatment of different diseases, including cancer, due to their antioxidant, cell death activation, and anti-inflammatory properties which associate with low toxicity under in vivo conditions. This review aims to discuss various approaches related to their mechanisms of action, pharmacological activities in animal models and humans, and potential chemoprevention in clinical studies. The biological activity of natural stilbenes is still incompletely understood. Furthermore, after administration to animals or humans, these molecules are rapidly metabolized. Thus pharmacokinetics and/or activities of the natural structures and their metabolites may be very different. Novel drug formulations have been postulated in order to improve stability and bioavailability, to minimize side effects, and to facilitate interaction with their domains in target proteins. These pharmacological improvements should lead stilbenes to become effective candidates as anticancer drugs.

The relationship between structure and in vitro antistaphylococcal effect of plant-derived stilbenes

“…Discovery of new natural antibacterial agents, which include plant-derived compounds, has regained momentum in past years as an important strategy on how to overcome the complications in the anti-infectious therapy [7]. Among these natural substances, plant stilbenes have received considerable interest over the past 20 years due to their pharmacological effects and negligible toxicity verified on various in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as a few clinical trials [8,9]. They occur naturally in various plant families, such as the Cyperaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Gnetaceae, Moraceae, Polygonaceae, and Vitaceae, whereas grapes and related products are considered to be the most important dietary sources of these substances [10].…”

In planta localization of stilbenes within Picea abies phloem

“…These compounds are derived from the phenylpropanoid pathway, in which the last steps of biosynthesis are catalyzed by stilbene synthase (Chong et al, 2009). There is increasing interest in these antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiinflammatory compounds for use in healthy human diets, therapeutic approaches, and as protective agents in materials sciences (Shibutani et al, 2004;Metsämuuronen and Siren, 2014;Reinisalo et al, 2015;Hedenström et al, 2016;Sirerol et al, 2016). The tetrahydroxystilbene glucosides trans-astringin (3,3ʹ,4ʹ,5-tetrahydroxystilbene 3-O-b-D-glucoside) and trans-isorhapontin (3,4ʹ,5-trihydroxy-3ʹ-methoxystilbene 3-O-b-D-glucoside) are the most abundant constitutive stilbene compounds of Norway spruce, while the trihydroxystilbene glucoside trans-piceid (resveratrol 3-O-b-glucoside) and stilbene aglycons (i.e.…”

Antioxidant Alternatives in the Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Comprehensive Review

“…Among the polyphenols with important pharmaceutical activity are the stilbenes (Dvorakova and Landa, 2017), a group of non-flavonoid phytochemicals of polyphenolic structure with a 1,2-diphenylethylene core, which are produced naturally in plants via the phenylpropanoid pathway (Sirerol et al, 2016) to protect the plant from fungal infection and toxins (Akinwumi et al, 2018). There is a wide variety of forms because of a common structure to which various substituents can be added in different positions and they have an acidic and amphiphilic character (Neves et al, 2012).…”