Title:Flavones as a Privileged Scaffold in Drug Discovery: Current Developments
Volume: 16
Issue: 7
Author(s): Pone K. Boniface*Ferreira I. Elizabeth
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo,Brazil
Keywords:
Flavones, multifactorial diseases, drug discovery, natural products, synthetic products, therapeutic agents.
Abstract:
Background: Flavones are one of the main subclasses of flavonoids with diverse pharmacological
properties. They have been reported to possess antimalarial, antimicrobial, anti-tuberculosis, anti-allergic,
antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, among others.
Objective: The present review summarizes the recent information on the pharmacological properties of
naturally occurring and synthetic flavones.
Methods: Scientific publications referring to natural and synthetic flavones in relation to their biological
activities were hand-searched in databases such as SciFinder, PubMed (National Library of Medicine), Science
Direct, Wiley, ACS, SciELO, Springer, among others.
Results: As per the literature, seventy-five natural flavones were predicted as active compounds with reference
to their IC50 (<20 µg/mL) in in vitro studies. Also, synthetic flavones were found active against several
diseases.
Conclusion: As per the literature, flavones are important sources for the potential treatment of multifactorial
diseases. However, efforts toward the development of flavone-based therapeutic agents are still needed. The
appearance of new catalysts and chemical transformations is expected to provide avenues for the synthesis of
unexplored flavones, leading to the discovery of flavones with new properties and biological activities.