Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The high potency of phloretin as a competitive inhibitor of the human red cell's monosaccharide transport system is not shared by any of several molecular fragments of phloretin, but is duplicated in certain artificial estrogens resembling phloretin in respect to the spacing between terminal phenolic -OH groups. Related molecules which are slightly less extendible are comparatively inactive.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Paul G. LeFevre (1959) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: