Influence of membrane lipid composition on flavonoid-membrane interactions: Implications on their biological activity

The membrane interactions and localization of flavonoids play a vital role in altering membrane-mediated cell signaling cascades as well as influence the pharmacological activities such as anti-tumour, anti-microbial and anti-oxidant properties of flavonoids. Various techniques have been used to investigate the membrane interaction of flavonoids. These include partition coefficient, fluorescence anisotropy, differential scanning calorimetry, NMR spectroscopy, electrophysiological methods and molecular dynamics simulations. Each technique will provide specific information about either alteration of membrane fluidity or localization of flavonoids within the lipid bilayer. Apart from the diverse techniques employed, the concentrations of flavonoids and lipid membrane composition employed in various studies reported in literature also are different and together these variables contribute to diverse findings that sometimes contradict each other. This review highlights different techniques employed to investigate the membrane interaction of flavonoids with special emphasis on erythrocyte model membrane systems and their significance in understanding the nature and extent of flavonoid-membrane interactions. We also attempt to correlate the membrane localization and alteration in membrane fluidity with the biological activities of flavonoids such as anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-microbial properties.