Luteolin, a flavonoid, as an anticancer agent: A review.

Abstract

Many food-derived phytochemicals and their derivatives represent a cornucopia of new anti-cancer compounds. Luteolin (3,4,5,7-tetrahydroxy flavone) is a flavonoid found in different plants such as vegetables, medicinal herbs, and fruits. It acts as an anticancer agent against various types of human malignancies such as lung, breast, glioblastoma, prostate, colon, and pancreatic cancers. It also blocks cancer development in vitro and in vivo by inhibition of proliferation of tumor cells, protection from carcinogenic stimuli, and activation of cell cycle arrest, and by inducing apoptosis through different signaling pathways. Luteolin can additionally reverse epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through a mechanism that involves cytoskeleton shrinkage, induction of the epithelial biomarker E-cadherin expression, and by down-regulation of the mesenchymal biomarkers N-cadherin, snail, and vimentin. Furthermore, luteolin increases levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) by activation of lethal endoplasmic reticulum stress response and mitochondrial dysfunction in glioblastoma cells, and by activation of ER stress-associated proteins expressions, including phosphorylation of eIF2α, PERK, CHOP, ATF4, and cleaved-caspase 12. Accordingly, the present review article summarizes the progress of recent research on luteolin against several human cancers.

• Authors: Muhammad Imran, Abdur Rauf, Tareq Abu-Izneid, Muhammad Nadeem, Mohammad Ali Shariati, Imtiaz Ali Khan, Ali Imran, Ilkay Erdogan Orhan, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Atif, Tanweer Aslam Gondal, Mohammad S Mubarak
• Journal: Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie (Biomed Pharmacother) Vol. 112 Pg. 108612 (Apr 2019) ISSN: 1950-6007 [Electronic] France
• PMID: 30798142 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Flavonoids
• Luteolin

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Flavonoids (chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Luteolin (chemistry, therapeutic use)
• Neoplasms (drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Signal Transduction (drug effects, physiology)