Luteolin and Bioflavonoids as Therapeutic Agents
Why are antioxidants necessary in the human diet?
Free radicals (also called Reactive Oxygen Species or ROS) are chemically highly reactive molecules that indiscriminately attack human tissue and cause all kinds of problems including aging, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic fatigue, depression, etc.
The body regulates these ROS by means of enzyme systems and producing the antioxidant glutathione. Superoxide dismutase and catalase are the primary enzymesfor neutralizing oxygen free radicals that are generated as a result of metabolism. These enzymes are less efficient at neutralizing ROS as a body ages and as a result the body is more dependent on glutathione and dietary sources of antioxidants. Furthermore, the enzyme called Gamma Glutamal Transpeptidase (GGT) degrades glutathione. GGT is up regulated when the liver attempts to eliminate toxins from our diet, lifestyle, or infections. These include alcohol use, anesthetics, prescription or recreational drug use, pesticide exposure, heavy metal exposure, exposure to organic chemicals such as hydrocarbons, as well as bacterial, viral, and fungal infections that produce toxins that make us feel sick.
Dietary compounds that reduce GGTP levels therefore increase glutathione and restore the proper levels of glutathione. These include bioflavonoids such as luteolin and luteolin analogs such as quercetin, silymarin, which decreased GGTP levels 23.79% in a double-blind placebo controlled study.
Luteolin is such a good antioxidant that it can help the body withstand radiation and chemotherapy. In a study from Japan, researchers went looking for the factor in Rooibos tea that was protecting DNA from radiation-induced free radicals. They discovered that the protective factor is luteolin. They then treated mice with pure luteolin. Luteolin gave dramatic protection to the bone marrow and spleen against radiation. It was better than any other plant derivative tested. They then tested luteolin in conjunction with doxorubicin (Adriamycin), a common chemotherapeutic drug known for its cardiac and bone marrow toxicity. Doxorubicin caused lipid peroxidation to rise in bone marrow to 5.9 times normal and cardiac rose to 1.5 times normal.
Luteolin provided dramatic protection against this drug-induced free radical damage. Bone marrow peroxidation decreased 91% and CPK levels (an indication of heart damage) were normalized by luteolin. Importantly, luteolin did not interfere with the therapeutic effects of doxorubicin. Together, the actions of luteolin and other bioflavonoids can help provide powerful cancer-fighting benefits.
