Flavonoids are nearly ubiquitous in plants and are recognized as the pigments responsible for the colors of leaves, especially in autumn. They are rich in seeds, citrus fruits, olive oil, tea, and red wine. They are low molecular weight compounds composed of a three-ring structure with various substitutions. This basic structure is shared by tocopherols (vitamin E). Flavonoids can be subdivided according to the presence of an oxy group at position 4, a double bond between carbon atoms 2 and 3, or a hydroxyl group in position 3 of the C (middle) ring. These characteristics appear to also be required for best activity, especially antioxidant and antiproliferative, in the systems studied. The particular hydroxylation pattern of the B ring of the flavonoles increases their activities, especially in inhibition of mast cell secretion. Certain plants and spices containing flavonoids have been used for thousands of years in traditional Eastern medicine. In spite of the voluminous literature available, however, Western medicine has not yet used flavonoids therapeutically, even though their safety record is exceptional. Suggestions are made where such possibilities may be worth pursuing.

The Effects of Plant Flavonoids on Mammalian Cells:Implications for Inflammation, Heart Disease, and Cancer

In chronic inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis, several cytokines recruit activated immune and inflammatory cells to the site of lesions, thereby amplifying and perpetuating the inflammatory state.1 These activated cells produce many other mediators of inflammation. What causes these diseases is still a mystery, but the disease process results from an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Genes, such as those for atopy in asthma and for HLA antigens in rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, may determine a patient's susceptibility to the disease and the disease's severity, but environmental factors, often unknown, . . .

Nuclear factor-kappaB: a pivotal transcription factor in chronic inflammatory diseases.

Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease.

Sixteen years have passed since the description of the nuclear factor-кB (NF-кB) as a regulator of к light-chain gene expression in murine B lymphocytes (Sen & Baltimore, 1986a) During that time, over 4,000 publications have appeared, characterizing the family of Rel/NF-кB transcription factors involved in the control of a large number of normal and pathological cellular processes The physiological functions of NF-кB proteins include immunological and inflammatory responses, developmental processes, cellular growth and modulating effects on apoptosis In addition, these factors are activated in a number of diseases, including cancer, arthritis, acute and chronic inflammatory states, asthma, as well as neurodegenerative and heart diseases

Activators and target genes of Rel/NF-kappaB transcription factors.

▪ Abstract The prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthases-1 and 2 (PGHS-1 and PGHS-2; also cyclooxygenases-1 and 2, COX-1 and COX-2) catalyze the committed step in prostaglandin synthesis. PGHS-1 and 2 are of particular interest because they are the major targets of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin, ibuprofen, and the new COX-2 inhibitors. Inhibition of the PGHSs with NSAIDs acutely reduces inflammation, pain, and fever, and long-term use of these drugs reduces fatal thrombotic events, as well as the development of colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we examine how the structures of these enzymes relate mechanistically to cyclooxygenase and peroxidase catalysis, and how differences in the structure of PGHS-2 confer on this isozyme differential sensitivity to COX-2 inhibitors. We further examine the evidence for independent signaling by PGHS-1 and PGHS-2, and the complex mechanisms for regulation of PGHS-2 gene expression.

Cyclooxygenases: Structural, cellular, and molecular biology

Molecular characterization of a phospholipase D generating anandamide and its congeners.

Transcriptional Roles of Nuclear Factor κB and Nuclear Factor-Interleukin-6 in the Tumor Necrosis Factor α-Dependent Induction of Cyclooxygenase-2 in MC3T3-E1 Cells (∗)

https://www.druglibrary.org/crl/receptors/endogenous/Goparahu%20et.al%2098%202-AG_%20FEBSLet.pdf

Anandamide amidohydrolase reacting with 2-arachidonoylglycerol, another cannabinoid receptor ligand

The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH)

Molecular characterization of N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase, a novel member of the choloylglycine hydrolase family with structural and functional similarity to acid ceramidase.

Natsuo Ueda

Papers

Molecular characterization of a phospholipase D generating anandamide and its congeners.

Transcriptional Roles of Nuclear Factor κB and Nuclear Factor-Interleukin-6 in the Tumor Necrosis Factor α-Dependent Induction of Cyclooxygenase-2 in MC3T3-E1 Cells (∗)

Anandamide amidohydrolase reacting with 2-arachidonoylglycerol, another cannabinoid receptor ligand

The fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH)

Molecular characterization of N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase, a novel member of the choloylglycine hydrolase family with structural and functional similarity to acid ceramidase.