Dietary flavonoid apigenin is a potential inducer of intracellular oxidative stress: the role in the interruptive apoptotic signal.

Apigenin is a representative dietary flavone (2-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one) inhibiting cancer cell growth both in cell culture systems and in vivo. The prooxidant potential of apigenin was confirmed by the observations using flowcytometric and immunoblotting techniques that the intracellular accumulations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protein carbonyls were detected in the cells treated with apigenin in a dose-dependent manner. Conversely, chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) did not show any prooxidant effect.