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Grynkiewicz. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2020;6:48 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2020.112 Metastasis and Treatment

Commentary Open Access

Isoflavone research towards healthcare applications

Grzegorz Grynkiewicz

Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Warsaw 01-793, Poland.

Correspondence to: Prof. Grzegorz Grynkiewicz, Industrial Chemistry Research Institute, 8 Rydygiera Str., Warsaw 01-793,
Poland. E-mail: grynicz@gmail.com

How to cite this article: Grynkiewicz G. Isoflavone research towards healthcare applications. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2020;6:48.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2020.112

Received: 10 Oct 2020 First Decision: 20 Nov 2020 Revised: 23 Nov 2020 Accepted: 30 Nov 2020 Published: 10 Dec 2020
Academic Editor: Sanjay Gupta Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
A survey of the current literature on natural isoflavones and their biological activity is presented. This subcategory
of a large group of plant polyphenolics has particular characteristics, structural as well as pharmacological, which
makes it suitable for discussion of pleiotropic activities of phytochemicals and their exploitation in healthcare,
beyond the concept of selectively targeted new drugs for narrow therapeutic indication.

Keywords: Isoflavones, phytoestrogens, genistein, novel drugs, nutraceuticals, functional food

INTRODUCTION
Aging populations inevitably suffer from chronic pathologic conditions recognized as metabolic syndrome,
cancers, and neurodegenerations, with projections of ever-increasing burden on future healthcare budgets
[1,2]
and service providers . Modern medicine is constantly gaining efficient new tools based on advances in
molecular biology and genetic engineering, but they are used more for cancer biology research, diagnostics
and experimental procedures than in routine clinical therapeutic interventions. These typically rely on
the administration of pharmacologically active preparations provided by the pharmaceutical industry,
via a lengthy and exorbitantly costly multistage process of drug discovery and development. One of the
most outstanding problems facing contemporary human healthcare, even in most affluent societies,
is cancer treatment, since oncological morbidity and mortality continue to be leading causes of death,
[1,2]
projecting a gloomy epidemiological forecast for the future . Despite cancer pharmacology and the
corresponding drug category started from synthetic alkylating agents, the overall pool of contemporary

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
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