Structural insights and shedding light on preferential interactions of dietary flavonoids with G-quadruplex DNA structures: A new horizon

Abstract

G-quadruplex, a structurally unique structure in nucleic acids present all throughout the human genome, has sparked great attention in therapeutic investigations. Targeting G-quadruplex structure is a new strategy for the drug development. Flavonoids are found in almost all dietary plant-based beverages and food products; therefore, they are ingested in significant proportions through the human diet. Although synthetically developed drug molecules are used vigorously but they have various adverse effects. While on the other hand, nature supplies chemically unique scaffolds in the form of distinct dietary flavonoids that are easily accessible, less poisonous, and have higher bioavailability. Because of their great pharmacological effectiveness and minimal cytotoxicity, such low molecular weight compounds are feasible alternatives to synthetic therapeutic medicines. Therefore, from a drug-development point of view, investigation on screening the binding capabilities of quadruplex-interactive small natural compounds like dietary flavonoids are expected to be highly effective, with a particular emphasis on the selectivity towards polymorphic G-quadruplex structures. In this respect, quadruplexes have scintillated research into their potential interaction with these dietary flavonoids. The purpose of this review is to offer an up-to-date close-up look at the research on their interaction with structurally varied dietary flavonoids with the goal of providing newer perspectives to construct novel therapeutic agents for next-generation disease managements.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

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  Humans consume considerable amounts of dietary flavonoids through their diet, for making them viable substitutes for conventional medicinal drugs.

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  Functional characterization and novel interactions between different types of dietary flavonoids with G-quadruplexes has been explored.

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  Interactions between G-quadruplex DNA structures and dietary flavonoids studied as potential molecular targets for prospective disease control.

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  Enlighten the structural variation between dietary flavonoids with respect to their binding to G-quadruplex DNA structures for providing knowledge that can be used to develop novel drugs for next-generation disease managements.