The role of flavonoids in autoimmune diseases: Therapeutic updates.

Pharmacol Ther. 2018 Sep 28. pii: S0163-7258(18)30174-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.09.009. [Epub ahead of print] Rengasamy KRR1, Khan H2, Gowrishankar S3, Lagoa RJL4, Mahomoodally FM5, Khan Z6, Suroowan S5, Tewari D7, Zengin G8, Hassan STS9, Pandian SK10. Author information 1 Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Science Campus, Karaikudi 603 003, India. Electronic address: cr.ragupathi@gmail.com. 2 Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan. Electronic address: hkdr2006@gmail.com. 3 Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Science Campus, Karaikudi 603 003, India. 4 ESTG, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal; UCIBIO, Faculty of Science and Technology, University NOVA of Lisbon, Portugal. 5 Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius. 6 Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan. 7 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Technology, Kumaun University, Bhimtal, 263136 Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. 8 Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk University, Campus, 42250 Konya, Turkey. 9 Department of Natural Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic. 10 Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Science Campus, Karaikudi 603 003, India. Electronic address: sk_pandian@rediffmail.com. Abstract Flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds which are included in a panoply of drugs and used to treat and/or manage human ailments such as metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological disorders and cancer. Thus, the purpose of this review is to emphasize the importance of flavonoids for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and put into the limelight of the scientific community several health-promoting effects of flavonoids which could be beneficial for the development of novel drugs from natural products. Despite available reviews on flavonoids targeting various disease conditions, a comprehensive review of flavonoids for autoimmune diseases is still lacking. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to review the potential of flavonoids for autoimmune diseases. The structure-activity relationship of flavonoids in this review revealed that the rearrangement and introduction of other functional groups into the basic skeleton of flavonoids might lead to the development of new drugs which will be helpful in relieving the painful symptoms of various autoimmune diseases. KEYWORDS: Immune system; Inflammation; Medicinal plants; Multiple sclerosis; Polyphenols; Rheumatoid arthritis PMID: 30268770 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.09.009