Clinical outcomes of flavonoids for immunomodulation in inflammatory bowel disease: a narrative review

Inflammatory bowel disease is a debilitating condition that undergoes a relapsing and remitting course. The pathogenesis of how this disease manifests remains to be elucidated; however, there is growing evidence that a synergism of familial predisposition and epigenetic alterations influenced by environmental factors all contribute to the development of the disease. The role of nutrition in improving the outcomes of the condition has garnered increasing interest, given the greater risks of neoplastic conversion and concerns about inappropriate remission with available pharmacotherapeutic treatments alone. Available reports, often anecdotal, have documented patient relief with employment of various dietary strategies. These have led to curiosity about nutritional assessments and nutrition therapies to ameliorate the morbidity and all-cause mortality of the disease. One group of such nutrition therapies, supported by a compendium of available articles, is flavonoids-although the greater abundance of in vitro experiments with relatively few clinical trials has limited their clinical use. Nonetheless, flavonoids have been shown to be functional foods with immunomodulatory capabilities. This article will thus delve into the role of flavonoids in altering the course of the immune response in inflammatory bowel disease, while assessing their clinical outcomes in human trials.