Apigenin is a common flavone found in a wide number of fruits and vegetables, (for example artichoke, basil, parsley, celery, green leafy vegetables, whole olives, chamomile tea) and is linked to the glucoside family of natural compounds. It is often dubbed as one of the major planks for the cancer preventative properties of the Mediterranean Diet, but that is probably far too simplistic. Many other compounds have much better researched properties. None the less, there is a growing body of evidence for this compound.
Anti-cancer Benefits
It is known to have anti-inflammatory properties and research over the last 6 years has shown its ability to reduce DNA oxidative damage, inhibit cancer cell signal transduction and induce apoptosis, inhibit the growth of human leukemia cells and induced these cells to differentiate and act against HRT caused breast cancer. For example:
In 2007 a team of researchers at Indiana School of Medicine concluded that apigenin, through its ability to target both oestrogen and non-oestrogen responsive breast cancer held promise as a new therapeutic agent against antiestrogen-resistant breast cancer (Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(7):2096–108)
By 2012 University of Missouri researchers concluded that, in women who had taken HRT for long periods and had a breast cancer caused by the synthetic component progestin (not to be confused with the natural hormone progesterone which has been should in many studies to be protective), intravenous apigenin could shrink the resultant breast tumour. Lead researcher Salman Hyder said that the apigenin seemed to work in four ways using mice.
- by inducing cell death,
- by inhibiting cell proliferation,
- by reducing expression of a gene associated with cancer growth.
- by reducing the diameter of blood vessels supplying nutrients to the tumour
In May 2013 a research team from the University of Ohio, found that apigenin had the ability to block the cancer’s blocker. Many cancer cells have the ability to stay in the rapidly dividing state rather than differentiating into normal cells. In this way they avoid death. However apigenin has the ability to stop the blocker working, the cell changes state, but the systems inside the cell recognize it is not a normal healthy cell and cause cell death. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Lead researcher Dr Andrea Doseff commented that this was one of the ways eating healthily could combat cancer.
Caution
There is research that suggests apigenin induces resistance against the chemotherapy drug vinicristine and, because it inhibits an enzyme (CYP2C9 which is responsible for metabolising many drugs in the body, it may not be wise to supplement during chemotherapy.