Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Dec;3(6):439-459.
doi: 10.1007/s13205-013-0117-5. Epub 2013 Feb 12.

Anti-cancer potential of flavonoids: recent trends and future perspectives

Priya Batra  1 , Anil K Sharma  2
Affiliations

Anti-cancer potential of flavonoids: recent trends and future perspectives

Priya Batra et al. 3 Biotech. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Cancer is a major public health concern in both developed and developing countries. Several plant-derived anti-cancer agents including taxol, vinblastine, vincristine, the campothecin derivatives, topotecan, irinotecan and etoposide are in clinical use all over the world. Other promising anti-cancer agents include flavopiridol, roscovitine, combretastatin A-4, betulinic acid and silvestrol. From this list one can well imagine the predominance of polyphenols, flavonoids and their synthetic analogs in the treatment of ovarian, breast, cervical, pancreatic and prostate cancer. Flavonoids present in human diet comprise many polyphenolic secondary metabolites with broad-spectrum pharmacological activities including their potential role as anti-cancer agents. A positive correlation between flavonoids-rich diet (from vegetables and fruits) and lower risk of colon, prostate and breast cancers lead to a question that whether flavonoids mediate the protective effects as chemopreventive agents or can interact with different genes and proteins to play role in chemotherapy. The current review emphasizes onto the therapeutic potential of flavonoids and their synthetic analogs as anti-cancer agents by providing new insights into the factors, regulation and molecular mechanisms along with their significant protein interactions.

Keywords: Anti-cancer; Breast cancer; Dietary flavonoids; Flavonoids; Health benefits; Therapeutic potential.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Subclasses of flavonoids
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pathway of biosynthesis of flavonoids
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adlercreutz H. Phyto-oestrogens and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2002;3:32–40. - PubMed
    1. Agullo G, Gamet-Payrastre L, Manenti S, Viala C, Rémésy C, Chap H, Payrastre B. Relationship between flavonoid structure and inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase: a comparison with tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C inhibition. Biochem Pharmacol. 1997;53(11):1649–1657. - PubMed
    1. Ahmad N, Mukhtar H. Cytochrome P450: a target for drug development for skin diseases. J Investig Dermatol. 2004;123:417–425. - PubMed
    1. Ahn SC, Kim GY, Kim JH, Baik SW, Han MK, Lee HJ, Moon DO, Lee CM, Kang JH, Kim BH, Oh YH, Park YM. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, constituent of green tea, suppresses the LPS-induced phenotypic and functional maturation of murine dendritic cells though inhibition of mitogen-activated-protein kinases and NF-kB. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004;313:148–155. - PubMed
    1. Akiyama T, Ishida J, Nakagawa S, Ogawara H, Watanabe S, Itoh N, Shibuya M, Fukami Y. Genistein, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine specific protein kinase. J Biol Chem. 1987;262:5592–5595. - PubMed