| Flavonoids are a class of plant secondary metabolites with important functions in plant protection to different stress types, including protection against UV light, pathogen resistance, etc. Apart from the important role in the plant, several flavonoids have been reported to have a positive effect on health. Different flavonoids have been correlated with cancer prevention but neither the bioactive doses nor the mechanism of action of these compounds have been well reported so far. In this project we identified several flavonoids that induce apoptosis of different cancer cell lines: quercitin, myricitin, fisetin, wogonin, kaempferol and resveratrol (stilbene). Quercitin showed the strongest effect among the compounds tested. Furthermore, combinatorial effects with cancer selective factors have been tested and quercitin revealed to synergise with TRAIL. |
