Table 1.
Some of the very recent examples of the roles exerted by flavonoids in cancer cells.
| Classification | Compound | Activity | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Flavones
|
Apigenin | ↑ | Anticancer activity via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and JAK-STAT. Induction of apoptsis in TRAIL-resistant cancers | [60,61,62,63,64] |
| Luteolin | ↑ | Induction of apoptosis and autophagy in ANA-1 cells via the p38, JNK and Akt signaling pathways, inhibiting Bcl-2 and beclin-1 and activating caspase-3 and caspase-8 | ||
| ↓ | Proliferation of BT474 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells | |||
| ↑ | Apoptosis in BT474 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells | |||
| ↑ | Apoptosis in ACS gastric cancer | |||
| Tangeritin | ↓ | Cell cycle in MCF7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells via the CYP1A1/CYP1B1-mediated metabolism | ||
Flavonols
|
Quercetin | ↓ | Many types of cancer via apoptosis and inhibition of cell replication | [41,65,66,67,68,69,70,71] |
| Kaempferol | ↑ | Apoptosis and autophagy in human lung cancer cells A549 via upregulation of miR-340 | ||
| ↑ | Apoptosis in HCT116, HCT15, and SW480 colorectal cancer cells | |||
| Myricetin | ↓ | Prostate cancer cell metastasis by cytotoxic activity | ||
| Fisetin | ↓ | Growth and metastasis and EMT in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 breast cancer cells | ||
| Galangin | ↓ | Proliferation of human kidney A498 cancer cells by the induction of apoptosis-targeted PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling | ||
| Isorhamnetin | ↓ | Growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells | ||
Flavanones (citrus fruit flavonoids)
|
Hesperetin | ↑ | Apoptosis in H522 lung cancer cells | [72,73] |
| Naringenin | ↓ | Prostate cancer metastasis via voltage-gated sodium channel blockage | ||
Flavanonols
|
Taxifolin | ↓ | Mammary carcinogenesis via the LXR-mTOR/Maf1/PTEN axis and the CYP1A1- and CYP1B1-mediated cancer | [74,75] |
| Flavans (Flavanols) Green tea catechins 
|
Epigallocatechingallate (EGCG) | ↑ | Chemoprevention in glioblastoma | [76,77,78,79,80] |
| ↑ | Apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia by Bcr/Abl-mediated p38-MAPK/JNK and JAK2/STAT3/AKT signaling | |||
| Catechin, EGCG | ↓ | Lung tumor growth via the inhibition of programmed cell death-ligand1 (PD-L1) | ||
| Epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) | ↓ | LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cell growth | ||
| Epigallocatechin (EGC) | ↓ | Suppression of HPV and tumors with curcumin and resveratrol | ||
Anthocyanidins
|
Cyanidin | ↓ | Angiogenesis in breast cancer via the STAT3/VEGF pathway and miR124 mediated STAT3 downregulation | [81,82,83] |
| Delphinidin | ↑ | Apoptosis and autophagy in HER-2 positive breast cancer MDA-MB-453 and BT474 cells | ||
| ↑ | Apoptosis and EMT in human osteosarcoma cell lines via the ERK2/p38MAPK pathway | |||
Isoflavonoids
|
Genistein | ↑ | Apoptosis in Mcl1 human laryngeal cancer cells | [84,85,86,87] |
| ↓ | Proliferation of EP3-expressing melanoma | |||
| Alters epigenetic in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells | ||||
| Daidzein | ↑ | Apoptosis in colon cancer cells | ||
Dow arrows = inhibition; Top arrows: activation and/or promotion. Red colours in chemical formulas indicate the typical functional groups and/or chemical positions for typical attachments of substituents (isoflavonoids).