Anti-inflammatory Plant Polyphenolics and Cellular Action Mechanisms

Background: Polyphenolics, a group of natural substances with a wide distribution in the plant kingdom present a great diversity of biological activities such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, modulation of enzyme activity, prevention of CHD, etc. The objective of this review was to describe the relevant aspects of polyphenolics, reporting the different known groups, the probable mechanisms by which they act as anti-inflammatory agents. An attempt was also made to enumerate the possible leads e.g. curcumin, resveratrol, baicalein for further development. Methods: For peer-reviewed research literature we undertook a structured search of bibliographic databases using a focused review question. The quality of retrieved papers was appraised using standard tools. The systemic review consists of research using scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Research: Compounds like Quercetin, luteolin, apigenin, fisetin, wogonin, and baicalein showed antiinflammatory activity in-vitro through different cellular mechanisms and these were also reported to possess significant anti-inflammatory activity in animal models of inflammation. Conclusion: It is evident that polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids, lignans, phloroglucinols, stilbenes, diarylheptanoids, quinones, and phenylpropanoids exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in-vivo as well as in-vitro. Although, these active compounds are not drugs per se, however, they deserve further investigation as potential candidates for anti-inflammatory drug development through preclinical and clinical studies.