A Critical Review on Flavonoids Used in Treatment of Various Cancers

Flavonoids are natural phenol compounds that form a large group of secondaryplant metabolites with interesting biological activities they are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea and wine. These natural products are well known for their beneficial effects on health and efforts are being made to isolate the ingredients so called flavonoid. Flavonoids are of particular interest as they have significant effects on human health. Flavonoids possess anti-cancer properties and they exert their curative effect by modulating different cell. Flavonoids have gained Importance as anti-cancer agents and have shown great potential as cytotoxic anti-cancer agents Promoting apoptosis in cancer cells. Increasing evidence shows that flavonoids can inhibit carcinogenesis via suppressing ROS Levels. Surprisingly, flavonoids can also trigger excessive oxidative stress, but this can also induce death of malignant cells. High dietary flavonoid intake has strongly been suggested to reduce the risk of numerous cancerentities in a large body of epidemiological studies. . In this review,a summary of flavonoids and their effectiveness in cancer treatment targeting apoptosis has been discussed.

类黄酮（Flavonoids）是一类天然酚类化合物，属于庞大的次生植物代谢物家族，具备多样的生物活性。它们广泛存在于水果、蔬菜、谷物、树皮、根系、茎秆、花卉、茶叶与葡萄酒中。这类天然产物因其对健康的诸多益处而广为人知，当前学界正致力于分离这类被称为类黄酮的活性成分。类黄酮对人体健康具有显著作用，因此受到了特别的关注。类黄酮具备抗癌特性，可通过调控多种细胞发挥治疗功效。作为抗癌制剂，类黄酮的重要性日益凸显，其作为细胞毒性抗癌剂的潜力十分突出，可诱导癌细胞凋亡（apoptosis）。越来越多的研究证据表明，类黄酮可通过抑制活性氧（Reactive Oxygen Species, ROS）水平来抑制癌变进程。值得注意的是，类黄酮还可诱发过度氧化应激，而这一过程同样能够促使恶性细胞死亡。大量流行病学研究均表明，较高的膳食类黄酮摄入量可显著降低多种癌症的发病风险。本综述对类黄酮及其在以细胞凋亡为靶点的癌症治疗中的应用效果进行了总结与讨论。