Luteolin:anti-inflammation and anticancer

Luteolin, 3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone, is a common flavonoid that exists in many types of plants including fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs. Plants rich in luteolin have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for treating various diseases such as hypertension, inflammatory disorders, and cancer.

Luteolin(CAS.NO:491-70-3) has multiple biological effects such as anti-inflammation, anti-allergy and anticancer, luteolin functions as either an antioxidant or a pro-oxidant biochemically. The biological effects of luteolin could be functionally related to each other. For instance, the anti-inflammatory activity may be linked to its anticancer property. Luteolin's anticancer property is associated with the induction of apoptosis, and inhibition of cell proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis. Furthermore, luteolin sensitizes cancer cells to therapeutic-induced cytotoxicity through suppressing cell survival pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), and stimulating apoptosis pathways including those that induce the tumor suppressor p53. These observations suggest that luteolin could be an anticancer agent for various cancers.


When compared to other flavonoids, only luteolin and quercetin inhibited platelet-activating factor and suppressed a type of inflammatory response induced by allergens by inhibiting lipoxygenase.   Luteolin inhibited the excess production of TNF-alpha, which directly causes inflammation and apoptosis  (cell death). The scientists who conducted the study concluded that luteolin could be used to develop a novel type of anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic drugs. .

A study assessed the antioxidant potencies of several dietary flavonoids compared with vitamin C. Pretreatment with all flavonoids and vitamin C produced dose-dependent reductions in oxidative DNA damage. When ranked in order of potency, luteolin was two times more effective than vitamin C by the Trolox test and more effective than seven other flavonoids in reducing DNA oxidative damage.

A 2010 University of Illinois study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that luteolin, a super-nutrient that had already been documented as having anti-inflammatory effects in the body, can also reduce brain inflammation and reverse age-related memory deficits by directly blocking the release of inflammatory molecules in the brain.


It’s common knowledge that antioxidants reduce inflammation in the body and that inflammation is the cause behind much illness, including many auto-immune diseases. Inflammation in the brain seems to play a major role in age-related memory loss. The University of Illinois study suggests that luteolin acts directly on the immune cells in the brain and spinal cord (known as microglial cells), reducing their production of inflammatory cytokines in the brain, small proteins that affect communication between and behavior of cells. Luteolin’s effect in decreasing the release of these proteins helps protect,


Luteolin has been studied in several preliminary in vitro scientific investigations. Proposed activities include antioxidant activity (ie. scavenging of free radicals), promotion of carbohydrate metabolism, and immune system modulation. Other in vitro studies suggest luteolin has anti-inflammatory activity, and that it acts as a monoamine transporter activator, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor,and an interleukin 6 inhibitor. In vivo studies show luteolin affects xylazine/ketamine-induced anesthesia in mice. In vitro and in vivo experiments also suggest luteolin may inhibit the development of skin cancer. Importantly, the therapeutic value of the above findings is unclear, and will remain so until further detailed in vivo, toxicity, and clinical studies are performed.