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What is Kaempferol?

Feb 12，2020

Kaempferol (3,5,7‐trihydroxy‐2‐[4‐hydroxyphenyl]‐4H‐1‐benzopyran‐4‐one) is a yellow bioactive flavonoid, which is present inmany edible plants such as tea, cabbage, broccoli, endive, kale, beans, tomato, strawberries, leek, and grapes. It has a significant role in reducing cancer and can act as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of diseases and ailments such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, oxidative stress, asthma, and microbial contamination disorders. Its efficacy, a broad range of activity, and low toxicity compared with other examined compounds, make it an attractive chemical in the fight against diseases (including cancer).[1]

As an anti‐oxidant, kaempferol counteracts production of superoxide ions and lowers the formation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. It also scavenges Fenton‐generated hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite, and hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, kaempferol suppresses the activity of xanthine oxidase and enhances the activities of catalase, heme oxygenase‐1, and superoxide dismutase. Kaempferol acts through different mechanisms: It induces apoptosis (HeLa cervical cancer cells), decreases cell viability (G2/M phase), downregulates phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K)/AKT (protein kinase B) and human T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma virus‐I (HTLV-I) signaling pathways, suppresses protein expression of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT)‐related markers including N‐cadherin, E‐cadherin, Slug, and Snail, and metastasis‐related markers such as matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2). [2]

It was also found that kaempferol markedly suppresses 17β‐estradiol (E2), induces apoptosis, causes cell cycle arrest, upregulates the expressions of bax and p21, downregulates the expressions of cyclin E, cyclin D1, and cathepsin D. It additionally caused reduction of the phosphorylation of AKT, IRS‐1, ERK, and MEK1/2 in MCF‐7 breast cancer cells of in vivo xenografted mouse model.. In addition, Lee and Kim reported that kaempferolexhibits anticancer activity against different human pancreatic cancercell lines such as Miapaca‐2, Panc‐1, and SNU‐213 in a dosedependent fashion. Moreover, it lowered viability, induced apoptosis, inhibited migratory activity, and mediated by inhibition of ERK1/2, EGFR‐related Src, and AKT pathways. In regulatory T cells (Tregs), kaempferol significantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of proliferation, increased the FOXP3 expression level, protected from the pathological symptoms of collagen‐induced arthritis, and also decreased the PIM1‐mediated FOXP3 phosphorylation at S422 in rat model. [3]

In all, kaempferol can be an important complementary medicine for the prevention and treatment of different illnesses, owing to its natural origin, safety, and low cost relative to synthetic drugs. However, further studies (including clinical trials on humans) of this natural compound are needed to establish its efficacy and safety. [4]

References

1.Al‐Numair, K. S., Veeramani, C., Alsaif, M. A., & Chandramohan, G. . Influence of kaempferol, a flavonoid compound, on membrane‐bound ATPases in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats. Pharmaceutical Biology, 2015, 53(9), 1372–1378.

2.Das, A., Majumder, D., & Saha, C. Correlation of binding efficacies of DNA to flavonoids and their induced cellular damage. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 2017, 170, 256–262.

3.Feng, H., Cao, J., Zhang, G., & Wang, Y. Kaempferol attenuates cardiac hypertrophy via regulation of ASK1/MAPK signaling pathway and oxidative stress. Planta Medica, 2017, 83(10), 837–845

Kashafi, E., Moradzadeh, M., Mohamadkhani, A., & Erfanian, S. Kaempferol increases apoptosis in human cervical cancer HeLa cells via PI3K/AKT and telomerase pathways. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2017, 89, 573–577.

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