Cytotoxic potential of C-prenylated flavonoids

Prenylated flavonoids are a large group of compounds that combine a flavonoid skeleton with a lipophilic prenyl side-chain. The-side chain may be modified, especially by oxidation, and this variation contributes many structural possibilities. Combining the flavonoid skeleton with a lipophilicity of the prenyl side-chain gives the resultant great potential for biological activity. The cytotoxic activity of prenylated flavonoids has been reviewed with the aim of evaluating the potential of these compounds for further research. The search for activity has been restricted to from blood derived cells to limit the number of sources cited and get a more valuable comparison of the compounds. All sources touching on the potential toxicity of prenylated flavonoids on blood-cell lines in last 30 years of research have been cited in this review. The Sciencedirect, Web of Knowledge, Scifinder, and Reaxys databases were searched for reports, descriptions, and structural information prenylated flavonoids. A wide spectrum of cell lines, coupled with the presence and/or sometimes the absence of a standard cytotoxic compound used to compare effects made the evaluation of data more difficult. An attempt to identify each structure-activity relationships was made. Although the toxicity of the compounds described here does not usually reach the nanomolar range of concentration for leukemic cancer cell lines, the prenylated flavonoids may possess a strong advantage, in that they are relatively non-toxic to non-cancer cells. Some possible mechanisms of action for the cytotoxicic effect have also been described.