REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology
The pharmacological effects and therapeutic potential of flavonoids in digestive diseases
Provisionally accepted
- Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
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Background: Digestive system diseases remain highly prevalent globally and constitute a major cause of mortality and disability. They not only severely compromise individual health but also result in massive consumption of medical resources, exacerbating socioeconomic burdens, thus emerging as a critical global public health challenge requiring resolution. In the prevention and treatment of digestive system diseases, flavonoids exhibit therapeutic potential through multiple targets and pathways. Methods: This review retrieved and summarized relevant literatures on flavonoids for the treatment of digestive diseases published between 2000 and 2025 in databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Excerpta Medica Database, Wiley Online Library, SpringerLink, Nature Publishing Group, American Chemical Society, Elsevier, and Royal Society of Chemistry. Keywords (flavonoids, digestive diseases, pharmacological effects, anti-inflammation, antioxidation) were used for searching. During screening, priority was given to flavonoids directly related to the pathogenesis or intervention effects of digestive diseases, with study types covering reviews, clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, etc. Exclusion criteria included literatures without clear association with digestive diseases and flavonoids, duplicate components and mechanisms, and lack of timeliness. Finally, 211 literatures were screened and included from 13,000, providing references for subsequent research. Results: Flavonoids can prevent and treat digestive system diseases via multiple biological activities including anti-inflammation, antioxidation, anti-virus, anti-bacteria, anti-cancer, metabolic regulation and immune regulation. Conclusion: Although flavonoids exhibit significant pharmacological effects and favorable safety profiles in the prevention and treatment of digestive diseases, laying a foundation for the development of new drugs, they still face numerous challenges in clinical application. In the future, it is necessary to further conduct high-quality clinical studies, deepen research on the molecular mechanisms of their actions, and promote their translation from basic research to clinical practice.
Keywords: Flavonoids, digestive diseases, Pharmacological effects, anti-inflammation, Antioxidation
Received: 12 Aug 2025; Accepted: 26 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Zhu, Chen, Chen, Zhang, Liu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lin Zhang
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.