Potential neuroprotective actions of dietary flavonoids

Flavonoids exert a multiplicity of neuroprotective actions within the brain, including a potential to protect neurons against injury induced by neurotoxins, an ability to suppress neuroinflammation, and the potential to promote memory, learning, and cognitive function. These effects appear to be underpinned by their interaction with critical protein and lipid kinase signaling cascades in the brain leading to an inhibition of apoptosis triggered by neurotoxic species and to a promotion of neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. Through these mechanisms, the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods throughout life holds the potential to limit neurodegeneration, decrease neuroinflammation, and prevent or reverse age-dependent loses in cognitive performance. The intense interest in the development of drugs capable of enhancing brain function means that flavonoids may represent important precursor molecules in the quest to develo