Luteolin, a flavonoid, as an anticancer agent
Muhammad Imrana, Abdur Rauf b,⁎, Tareq Abu-Izneidc, Muhammad Nadeemd, Mohammad Ali Shariatie, Imtiaz Ali Khanf, Ali Imrang, Ilkay Erdogan Orhanh,⁎,Muhammad Rizwani, Muhammad Atif j, Tanweer Aslam Gondalk, Mohammad S. Mubarakl,
a University Institute of Diet and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, The University of Lahor, Pakistan
b Department of Chemistry, University of Swabi, Anbar, 23561, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
c Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University of Science and Technology, Al Ain Campus, UAE
d Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari, Pakistan
e Laboratory of Biocontrol and Antimicrobial Resistance, Orel State, University Named After I.S. Turgenev, 302026, Orel, Russia
f Department of Agriculture, University of Swabi, Anbar, 23561, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
g Department of Food Science, Nutrition & Home Economics, Institute of Home and Food Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
h Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, 06330, Ankara, Turkey
i Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Abasyn University Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan
j Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
k School of Exercise and Nutrition, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia
l Department of Chemistry, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan
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 epithelialmesenchymal 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,
Keywords
Flavonoids, Luteolin, Breast cancer, Stomach, Prostate, Colon, Skin cancer
