. 2021 Aug 28;10(9):1376. doi: 10.3390/antiox10091376

Table 2.

Synopsis of the main molecular targets and mechanisms of action of flavonoids.

Flavonoid	Molecular Targets	Biological Role	Mechanisms of Action	Ref.
Catechin, Epigallocatechin	ERK, NF-kB, Rac1, AP-1, p38	Anticarcinogenic	Inhibition of iNOS expression	[46,47,48,49]
Catechin, Epigallocatechin	ERK, NF-kB, Rac1, AP-1, p38	Anticarcinogenic	Reduction of NF-kB and AP-1 activity	[46,47,48,49]
Apigenin	Akt, ERK, caspase-12, caspase-3, MAPK, ROS, COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, iNOS, PGE2	Anti-inflammatory, Anticarcinogenic	Inhibition of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), VCAM-1, and E-selectin expression	[9,46,47,50,51]
Apigenin		Anti-inflammatory, Anticarcinogenic	Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis and IL-6 production	[9,46,47,50,51]
Luteolin	Akt, ERK, caspase-12, caspase-3, MAPK, ROS, COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, iNOS, PGE2	Anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic	Inhibition of the upregulation of monocytes adhesion and VCAM-1 expression and NF-kB activity	[9,46,47,50,51]
Luteolin		Anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic		[9,46,47,50,51]
Quercetin	PKC, AP-1, H₂O₂, iNOS, MDA, citrate synthase, MMP-9, MMP-2, COX-2, ERK	Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory	Inhibition of NO production and iNOS protein expression	[46,47,52]
Quercetin		Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory	Inhibition of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase activities	[46,47,52]
Hesperetin	GSH reductase, iNOS, 3-nitropropionic acid, COX2, NF-kB, IL-1, TNF-α	Antioxidant	Blood lipid-lowering and cholesterol-lowering agents	[46,47,52]