The effects of dietary flavonoids on the regulation of redox inflammatory networks

Abstract

Dietary flavonoids are a large family of polyphenols ubiquitously expressed in plants. Recent evidence show that flavonoids possess several antiinflammatory activities due to their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS), to inhibit the pro-inflammatory activity of ROS-generating enzymes including cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and to modulate different intracellular signaling pathways from NF-kB to mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) through perturbation of redox-sensible networks in immune cells. This report will review current knowledge on the anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoids on immune cells focusing on their ability to modulate multiple redoxsensible pathways involved in inflammation.