A Critical Review of Phenolic Compounds Extracted from the Bark of Woody Vascular Plants and Their Potential Biological Activity

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 6; p. 1182
• Main Authors: Tanase, Corneliu, Coșarcă, Sanda, Muntean, Daniela-Lucia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.03.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - chemistry; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Antimutagenic Agents - chemistry; Antimutagenic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Bark; Bioactive compounds; Biological activity; Biological effects; biological properties; Carbon; Chemical composition; Efficiency; Ethanol; extraction; Flavonoids; Flowers & plants; Immunostimulation; Inflammation; Lignin; Metabolites; Methods; Molecular Structure; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Plant Bark - chemistry; Plant extracts; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plants; Polyphenols; Polyphenols - chemistry; Polyphenols - pharmacology; Review; rhytidome; Secondary metabolites; Solvents; Tracheophyta - chemistry; Ultrasonic imaging; Woody plants; woody vascular plants; polyphenols; biological properties; extraction; rhytidome; bark; woody vascular plants
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24061182

Polyphenols are one of the largest and most widespread groups of secondary metabolites in the plants world. These compounds are of particular interest due to their occurrence and the properties they possess. The main sources of phenolic compounds are fruits and vegetables, but lately, more and more studies refer to woody vascular plants, especially to bark, as an important source of phenolic compounds with a potential biological effect. This study aims to bring together information on the phenolic compounds present in the bark of woody vascular plants by discussing extraction methods, the chemical composition of the extracts and potential biological effects. The literature data used in this paper were collected via PubMed (2004⁻2019). Search terms were: bark, rhytidome, woody vascular plant, polyphenols, phenolic compounds, biologic activity, antioxidant, immunostimulatory, antimutagenic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumoral. This paper intends to highlight the fact that the polyphenolic extracts obtained from the bark of woody vascular plants represent sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant, immunostimulatory, antimutagenic, antibacterial properties, etc. Future research directions should be directed towards identification and isolation of bioactive compounds. Consequently, biologically active compounds obtained from the bark of woody plants could be exploited on an industrial scale.