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Flavonoids: antioxidants or signalling molecules?
Robert J Williams1, Jeremy P E Spencer, Catherine Rice-Evans
1Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, GKT School of Biomedical Sciences, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London SE1 9RT, UK. robert.williams@kcl.ac.uk
Free Radical Biology & Medicine
|March 17, 2004
Summary
Dietary flavonoids, known for antioxidant effects, may actually protect nerves and the heart by modulating cell signaling pathways rather than donating hydrogen. Understanding these mechanisms is key to their use as therapeutic agents.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Dietary flavonoids exhibit neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and chemopreventive effects.
- Their primary mechanism was thought to be antioxidant activity.
- Emerging evidence suggests modulation of cell signaling pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the non-antioxidant mechanisms of dietary flavonoids.
- To investigate the role of flavonoid metabolites in cellular actions.
- To understand how flavonoids influence protein and lipid kinase signaling.
Main Methods:
- Review of accumulating studies on flavonoid actions.
- Analysis of research on flavonoid interactions with kinase signaling pathways.
- Examination of the impact of flavonoid metabolism on biological activity.
Main Results:
- Flavonoids and their metabolites may act as modulators of cell signaling pathways.
- Key pathways affected include PI 3-kinase, Akt/PKB, tyrosine kinases, PKC, and MAP kinase.
- These modulatory actions influence cellular function by altering phosphorylation and gene expression.
Conclusions:
- Flavonoids may exert therapeutic effects through kinase signaling modulation, not just antioxidant properties.
- Understanding metabolism's influence on these signaling actions is crucial.
- This knowledge is vital for evaluating flavonoids as anticancer, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective agents.