Cancer is a serious public health concern worldwide, and nervous system (NS) cancers are among the most life-threatening malignancies. Eforts have been devoted to introduce natural anticancer agents with minimal side efects. Apigenin is an edible favonoid that is abundantly found in many vegetables and fruits. Various pharmaceutical activities, including antiinfammatory, antioxidative, antimicrobial, and anticancer efects have been reported for apigenin. This review provides insights into the therapeutic efects of apigenin and favonoids with similar structure on glioblastoma and neuroblastoma. Current evidence indicates that apigenin has the unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and its antioxidative, antiinfammatory, neurogenic, and neuroprotective efects have made this favonoid a great option for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Meanwhile, apigenin has low toxicity on normal neuronal cells, while induces cytotoxicity on NS cancer cells via triggering several signal pathways and molecular targets. Anticancer efects of apigenin have been contributed to various mechanisms such as induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibition of migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. Although apigenin is a promising pharmaceutical agent, its low bioavailability is an important issue that must be solved before introducing to clinic. Recently, nano-delivery of apigenin by liposomes and poly lactic-co-glycolide nanoparticles has greatly improved functionality of this agent. Hence, investigating pharmaceutical efects of apigenin-loaded nanocarriers on NS cancer cell lines and animal models is recommended for future studies.

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