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Review
. 2019 May 18;8(5):137.
doi: 10.3390/antiox8050137.

Dietary Flavonoids as Cancer Chemopreventive Agents: An Updated Review of Human Studies

Carmen Rodríguez-García  1   2 , Cristina Sánchez-Quesada  3   4   5 , José J Gaforio  6   7   8   9
Affiliations
Review

Dietary Flavonoids as Cancer Chemopreventive Agents: An Updated Review of Human Studies

Carmen Rodríguez-García et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Over the past few years, interest in health research has increased, making improved health a global goal for 2030. The purpose of such research is to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing across individuals of all ages. It has been shown that nutrition plays a key role in the prevention of some chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. One of the aspects that characterises a healthy diet is a high intake of vegetables and fruits, as both are flavonoid-rich foods. Flavonoids are one of the main subclasses of dietary polyphenols and possess strong antioxidant activity and anti-carcinogenic properties. Moreover, some population-based studies have described a relationship between cancer risk and dietary flavonoid intake. In this context, the goal of this review was to provide an updated evaluation of the association between the risk of different types of cancers and dietary flavonoid intake. We analysed all relevant epidemiological studies from January 2008 to March 2019 using the PUBMED and Web of Science databases. In summary, this review concludes that dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a reduced risk of different types of cancer, such as gastric, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers.

Keywords: antioxidants; cancer; diet; flavonoids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flavonoid biosynthesis pathways (general structure of flavonoids).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flavonoid subclasses.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structure of glycoside and aglycone flavonoids.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Worldwide intake of flavonoid subclasses.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Worldwide cancer incidence. Data collected from GLOBOCAN (2018) [2].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Worldwide cancer incidence by type in males [2]. Created with mapchart.net.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Worldwide cancer incidence by type in females [2]. Created with mapchart.net.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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