ABSTRACT
The significant increase in human life span over the last century, thanks to advances in medical science, has incited new challenges to improve quality of life and cognitive function of the elderly population. Chronic inflammatory diseases including arthritis and cancer, as well as debilitating brain conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, occur at higher incidence in the ageing population. However, the mechanisms responsible for most neurodegenerative diseases and normal brain ageing remain poorly understood. Loss of brain function has been associated with progressive impairment of mitochondrial function, increased oxidative stress, activation of neuronal apoptosis, aggregation of brain proteins, and inflammatory conditions. Approaches for the prevention and treatment of these deteriorating brain functions are limited. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop preventing therapies for brain health. Dietary compounds capable of regulating neuronal and immune functions promise great opportunities to ameliorate debilitating brain conditions. Here, we review the role of flavonoids, some of the most abundant dietary compounds, in the prevention of dysregulated brain functions and discuss their potential role for the improvement of brain health.
