Flavonoids as prospective compounds for anti-cancer therapy

Abstract

Flavonoids, which are polyphenolic compounds, are a class of plant secondary metabolites possessing a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity including anti-cancer activities. They have been reported to interfere in the initiation, promotion and progression of cancer by modulating different enzymes and receptors in signal transduction pathways related to cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, inflammation, angiogenesis, metastasis and reversal of multidrug resistance. Due to their multiple molecular mechanisms of action, flavonoids (both natural and synthetic analogs) are being investigated for their potential applications in anti-cancer therapies. In this review article, the main molecular mechanisms of action of flavonoids attributing to their potential anti-cancer activities have been discussed and the key structural features required for their activity are highlighted.

Keywords: (Trolox)-equivalent antioxidant capacity assay; AKT; Anti-cancer activity; COX; ERK; FRAP; Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma assay; Flavonoids; GST; HDM2; HIF-α; LOX; MT1-MMP; Mcl-1; NFκB; PI3K; Polyphenolics; SRC; TEAC; UDP-GT; cyclooxygenase; extracellular-signal-regulated kinase; glutathione S-transferase; human double minute 2 oncogene; hypoxia-inducible factor α; lipoxygenase; mTOR; mammalian target of rapamycin; membrane-type matrix metalloproteinase-14; myeloid leukemia cell sequence; nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase; proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase; symbol for protein kinase B (PKB); uridine 5′-diphosphate-galactose.