title: Insights into dietary flavonoids as molecular templates for the design of anti-platelet drugs.
abstract: Flavonoids are low-molecular weight, aromatic compounds derived from fruits, vegetables, and other plant components. The consumption of these phytochemicals has been reported to be associated with reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, attributed to their anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-thrombotic actions. Flavonoids exert these effects by a number of mechanisms which include attenuation of kinase activity mediated at the cell-receptor level and/or within cells, and are characterized as broad-spectrum kinase inhibitors. Therefore, flavonoid therapy for CVD is potentially complex; the use of these compounds as molecular templates for the design of selective and potent small-molecule inhibitors may be a simpler approach to treat this condition. Flavonoids as templates for drug design are, however, poorly exploited despite the development of analogues based on the flavonol, isoflavonone, and isoflavanone subgroups. Further exploitation of this family of compounds is warranted due to a structural diversity that presents great scope for creating novel kinase inhibitors. The use of computational methodologies to define the flavonoid pharmacophore together with biological investigations of their effects on kinase activity, in appropriate cellular systems, is the current approach to characterize key structural features that will inform drug design. This focussed review highlights the potential of flavonoids to guide the design of clinically safer, more selective, and potent small-molecule inhibitors of cell signalling, applicable to anti-platelet therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Schools of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Berkshire, Reading RG6 6UB, UK. b.wright@reading.ac.uk
authors.forename: Bernice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Jeremy P E
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lovegrove
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gibbins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004032:Diet; D015195:Drug Design; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors