Exploring the Remarkable Chemotherapeutic Potential of Polyphenolic Antioxidants in Battling Various Forms of Cancer

Mohammad Imran; Areeba Insaf; Nazeer Hasan; Vrushabh V Sugandhi; Deumaya Shrestha; Keshav Raj Paudel; Saurav Kumar Jha; Philip M Hansbro; Kamal Dua; Hari Prasad Devkota; Yousuf Mohammed

doi:10.3390/molecules28083475

Exploring the Remarkable Chemotherapeutic Potential of Polyphenolic Antioxidants in Battling Various Forms of Cancer

Molecules. 2023 Apr 14;28(8):3475. doi: 10.3390/molecules28083475.

Authors

Mohammad Imran¹, Areeba Insaf², Nazeer Hasan³, Vrushabh V Sugandhi⁴, Deumaya Shrestha⁵, Keshav Raj Paudel⁶, Saurav Kumar Jha⁷, Philip M Hansbro⁶, Kamal Dua^{8

9}, Hari Prasad Devkota^{10

11}, Yousuf Mohammed^{1

12}

Affiliations

¹ Therapeutics Research Group, Frazer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia.
² Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India.
³ Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutics, Y.B. Chavan College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad 431001, India.
⁵ Department of Bioscience, Mokp o National University, Muna 58554, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Centre of Inflammation, School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Centenary Institute and University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁷ Department of Biomedicine, Health & Life Convergence Sciences, Mokpo National University, Muna 58554, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁹ Faculty of Health, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.
¹⁰ Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 5-1 Oe-honmachi, Kumamoto 862-0973, Japan.
¹¹ Pharmacy Program, Gandaki University, Pokhara 33700, Nepal.
¹² School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia.

Abstract

Plant-derived compounds, specifically antioxidants, have played an important role in scavenging the free radicals present under diseased conditions. The persistent generation of free radicals in the body leads to inflammation and can result in even more severe diseases such as cancer. Notably, the antioxidant potential of various plant-derived compounds prevents and deregulates the formation of radicals by initiating their decomposition. There is a vast literature demonstrating antioxidant compounds' anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer potential. This review describes the molecular mechanism of various flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate, against different cancers. Additionally, the pharmaceutical application of these flavonoids against different cancers using nanotechnologies such as polymeric, lipid-based nanoparticles (solid-lipid and liquid-lipid), liposomes, and metallic nanocarriers is addressed. Finally, combination therapies in which these flavonoids are employed along with other anti-cancer agents are described, indicating the effective therapies for the management of various malignancies.

Keywords: anticancer; antioxidant; combination therapy; flavonoids; nanotechnology.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Antioxidants* / pharmacology
Antioxidants* / therapeutic use
Flavonoids / pharmacology
Flavonoids / therapeutic use
Humans
Lipids
Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Phytochemicals

Substances

Antioxidants
Flavonoids
Phytochemicals
Lipids

Grants and funding

P.M.H. is funded by a Fellowship and grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (1079187, 1175134) and by University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia. K.R.P. is supported by a fellowship from Prevent Cancer Foundation(PCF), Alexandria, Virginia, United States, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), Denver, Colorado, United States.