Flavones: An important scaffold for medicinal chemistry

• The numerous biological activities of flavones has been discussed.
• Synthesis and Chemistry of flavone scaffold has been discussed.
• The various examples of flavones derivatives with different activities have been discussed.
• Structure activity relationship (SAR) of flavone scaffold for different activities has been discussed in this review.

Flavones have antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, estrogenic, acetyl cholinesterase, anti-inflammatory activities and are also used in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. Also, flavonoids are found to have an effect on several mammalian enzymes like protein kinases that regulate multiple cell signaling pathways and alterations in multiple cellular signaling pathways are frequently found in many diseases. Flavones have been an indispensable anchor for the development of new therapeutic agents.The majority of metabolic diseases are speculated to originate from oxidative stress, and it is therefore significant that recent studies have shown the positive effect of flavones on diseases related to oxidative stress. Due to the wide range of biological activities of flavones, their structure–activity relationships have generated interest among medicinal chemists. The outstanding development of flavones derivatives in diverse diseases in very short span of time proves its magnitude for medicinal chemistry research. The present review gives detail about the structural requirement of flavone derivatives for various pharmacological activities. This information may provide an opportunity to scientists of medicinal chemistry discipline to design selective, optimize as well as poly-functional flavone derivatives for the treatment of multi-factorial diseases.

Flavones have antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, estrogenic, acetyl cholinesterase, anti-inflammatory activities and are also used in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders etc. Due to the wide range of biological activities of flavones have generated interest among medicinal chemists. This review may provide an opportunity to scientists of medicinal chemistry discipline to design selective, optimize as well as poly-functional flavone derivatives for the treatment of multi-factorial diseases.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide