ABSTRACT
Over the past few years, inflammation has been recognized as a significant risk factor for a diverse range of human diseases. Acute inflammation is a short-term and self-limiting process that makes it easy for the host defenses to return the body to homeostasis. On the other hand, chronic inflammation is being shown to be increasingly involved in predisposition to a pathological progression of chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, asthma, and even cancer. As a result, treatment of chronic inflammatory disease is under active investigation, and there is an immediate need to find new and safe anti-inflammatory compounds. Flavonoids are natural substances that normally occur in a diet and have been reported to play a significant role in managing various chronic inflammatory disorders. This chapter contains the current knowledge of mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoids and the implications of these effects on protection against various chronic inflammatory diseases.
