Plant-based compounds have been in the spotlight in search of new and promising drugs.
Flavokawain A, B and C are naturally occurring
chalcones that have been isolated from several medicinal plants; namely the piper methysticum or commercially known as the kava-kava. Multiple researches have been done to evaluate the bioactivities of these compounds. It has been shown that all three flavokawains may hold promising anti-
cancer effects. It has also been revealed that both
flavokawain A and B are involved in the induction of cell cycle arrest in several
cancer cell lines. Nevertheless,
flavokawain B was shown to be more effective in treating in vitro
cancer cell lines as compared to
flavokawain A and C.
Flavokawain B also exerts antinociceptive effects as well as anti-
inflammation properties. This mini-review attempts to discuss the
biological properties of all the flavokawains that have been reported.