Anticancer compounds flavonoids

Cancer cell lines are a useful tool in the anticancer research that facilitates knowledge of new cytotoxic compounds, the potency of a drug or the structure-activity relationship such knowledge helps to develop new anticancer compounds. In this way, lots of pharmacological studies carried out with natural and synthetic flavonoids show that these compounds can inhibit the growth of diverse human cancer cell lines but this information has not been compiled and there is very little imderstanding about a possible structure -activity relationship. Some authors have found some structural requirements (that sometimes... 

A major group of citrus compounds interacting with drugs are phenolics, which include hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids such as flavanones, fla-vones, and flavonols, and anthocyanins, as well as coumarins (Table 1, Fig. 1) (30). Many of these phenolic compounds have been shown to have antioxidant and anticancer properties that may play an important role in cancer prevention, but also in prevention of other chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, gout, and arthritis (58 60). 

Flavonoids are widely distributed colored phenolic derivatives. Related compounds include flavones, flavonols, flavanonols, xanthones, flavanones, chalcones, aurones, anthocyanins, and cat-echins (see Chapter 29). Plants containing flavonoids with anticancer properties include ... 

These non-flavonoid phenolic compounds are easily oxidized (89JC428, 89JAFC1069) and show anticancer activities (04MI3707). 

Aldot condensations between a ketone acting as methylene compound and an aldehyde are termed C laiscn-Schmidt condensations [9]. Therefore. Claisen-Schmidt condensations between acetophenone and bcn/aldchyde derivatives allow u.p-unsaturated ketones called chalconcs (Figure 14) 1110, 182, 256-258]. Chalcones are flavonoids of numerous applications as pesticides, phoioproiector in plastics, solar creams, food additives and many biological activities [Pg.98]

Since ancient times, we are dependent on nature to continue our lives and prepare our basic requirements such as pharmaceutical compounds [9]. The use of natural compound s such as therapeutic strategies to fight against diseases is identified through folklore and is developed and approved by a plethora of recent studies. So, many natural products are currently in use [10]. During the last decades a revolution has occurred in the field of search for natural products with anticancer effect [11]. This phenomenon leads to an upsurge in finding of thousands of natural products with alkaloid, terpenoid, flavonoid, etc. skeletons which show anticancer properties in cellular and animal model system s and in humans [11]. 

Chalcones (l,3-diaryl-2-propen-l-ones) are flavonoids lacking a heterocyclic C ring. Also this category of flavonoids displays a broad spectrum of bio activities such as anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties (Calliste et al. 2001). Dihydrochalcones, which do not have a P double bond, comprise phloretin [P- (4-hydroxyphenyl) -1 -(2,4,6-trihydroxypropiophenone) and its glucoside, phlo-ridzin (phloretin 2- P-D-glucose). Comparison with structurally related compounds revealed that the antioxidant pharmacophore of phloretin is 2,6-dihydroxyacetophenone (Rezk et al. 2002). The po-... 

Flavonoids are a group of secondary plant metabolites. These compounds can be used as antioxidants or antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer drugs. Many flavonoid biosynthetic pathways are known, and a wide array of flavonoid compounds from 5. cerevisiae are expected to be produced by metabolic engineering in the near future. 

The predominant effect of flavonoid and isoflavonoid supplementation in ex vivo cell culture models appears to be one of promoting apoptosis [54—57]. This is repeatedly observed in studies witti transformed cancer cells, leading to the descriptions cytoprotective and/or chemopreventive [6,58]. Two poly-phenolic compounds that have been extensively studied in anticancer research are quercetin and genistein, a flavonoid and isoflavone, respectively. However, ex vivo studies with primary cultured cells in 2000 and 2001 showed that some flavonoids can prevent apoptosis promoted by agents that induce oxidative stress [7,8,59]. The outcome of flavonoid treatment is expected to show a complex dependence on a number of factors, including the type of flavonoid, its concentration, the type of cell (e.g., transformed versus nontransformed), the mechanisms of action of the flavonoid, the nature of the proapoptotic stimulus, and the specific apoptotic signaling pathway that is activated. 

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