Flavonoid Basics: Chemistry, Sources, Mechanisms of Action, and Safety

In our efforts to understand how various dietary factors can influence the risk and progression of chronic disease, much recent research has focused on phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are defined as nonessential nutrients found in plant-based food, many of which have been established as bioactive and thus may affect human health (1 Visioli F , De La Lastra CA , Andres-Lacueva C , Aviram M , Calhau C , et al. Polyphenols and human health: a prospectus . Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr . 2011 ; 51 : 524 – 46 .[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The largest group of phytochemicals is the polyphenols, comprised principally of the flavonoids, which are characterized chemically by two benzene rings joined by a linear carbon chain. Evidence from observational studies indicates that regular consumption of foods containing flavonoids may reduce the risk several chronic conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases (2 Spencer JPE . Flavonoids and brain health: Multiple effects underpinned by common mechanisms . Genes Nutr . 2009 ; 4 : 243 – 50 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), atherosclerosis (3 Blanco-Colio LM , Valderrama M , Alvarez-Sala LA , Bustos C , Ortego M , et al. . Red wine intake prevents nuclear factor κB activation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of health volunteers during postprandial lipemia . Circulation . 2000 ; 102 : 1020 – 6 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and certain forms of cancer (4 Surh Y-J. Cancer chemoprevention with dietary phytochemicals . Nature Rev. 2003 ; 768 – 80 .[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). These results have generated considerable interest in flavonoids, although much basic information about their nutrient characteristics in humans remains limited, e.g., their bioavailability and metabolism, interactions with other dietary factors, mechanisms of action, and intakes associated with specific health outcomes. Although flavonoids are commonly defined as dietary antioxidants and their putative health benefits commonly attributed to this mechanism, it now appears their principal actions are mediated in vivo via other biochemical and molecular pathways (5 Atmani D , Chaher N , Atmani D , Berboucha M , Debbache N , Boudaoud H . Flavonoids in human health: from structure to biological activity . Curr Nutr Food Sci . 2009 ; 5 : 225 – 37 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]).