Dietary Flavonoids as Cancer Chemopreventive Agents: An Updated Review of Human Studies

Abstract

Over the past few years, interest in health research has increased, making improved health a global goal for 2030. The purpose of such research is to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing across individuals of all ages. It has been shown that nutrition plays a key role in the prevention of some chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. One of the aspects that characterises a healthy diet is a high intake of vegetables and fruits, as both are flavonoid-rich foods. Flavonoids are one of the main subclasses of dietary polyphenols and possess strong antioxidant activity and anti-carcinogenic properties. Moreover, some population-based studies have described a relationship between cancer risk and dietary flavonoid intake. In this context, the goal of this review was to provide an updated evaluation of the association between the risk of different types of cancers and dietary flavonoid intake. We analysed all relevant epidemiological studies from January 2008 to March 2019 using the PUBMED and Web of Science databases. In summary, this review concludes that dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a reduced risk of different types of cancer, such as gastric, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers.

Keywords

• flavonoids
• diet
• antioxidants
• cancer