Are food compounds able to modulate noxious activities induced by cadmium exposure?

Cadmium is one of the most toxic environmental and industrial pollutants and is able to induce severe injury because it is poorly excreted, accumulating in various organs. This common pollutant is responsible for serious damage in lung, brain, testis, kidney, liver, circulatory system, and bone. Food compounds, such as flavonoids, represent the most abundant polyphenols in human diet and comprise thousands of substances, which are freely available as high-dose dietary supplements. The mechanism of action of these ones consists in free radical scavenging and metal sequestration. The interaction of metal ions with flavonoids leads to chelation and the use of these natural compounds is better than the synthetic ones due to their lower toxic effects. The aim of this review is to describe the role of some food compounds, focusing on flavonoids for modulating noxious biological activities induced by cadmium exposure.