A Review of Classification, Biosynthesis, Biological Activities and Potential Applications of Flavonoids

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 28; no. 13; p. 4982
• Main Authors: Chen, Shen, Wang, Xiaojing, Cheng, Yu, Gao, Hongsheng, Chen, Xuehao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.06.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Antioxidants; application; Biological activity; Biosynthesis; biosynthesis pathway; Cancer; Chronic diseases; Citrus fruits; Classification; Cocoa; Cosmetics; Environmental stress; Flavonoids; Flavonoids - metabolism; Food processing; Free radicals; Health aspects; Health risks; Isoflavones; Metabolites; Nanotechnology; Physiological aspects; Plant metabolites; Plant species; Plants - metabolism; Review; Reviews; Scavenging; Secondary metabolites; Seeds; Technology application; United Kingdom; biological activity; application; biosynthesis pathway; classification; flavonoids
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules28134982

Flavonoids represent the main class of plant secondary metabolites and occur in the tissues and organs of various plant species. In plants, flavonoids are involved in many biological processes and in response to various environmental stresses. The consumption of flavonoids has been known to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases due to their antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. In the present review, we summarize the classification, distribution, biosynthesis pathways, and regulatory mechanisms of flavonoids. Moreover, we investigated their biological activities and discuss their applications in food processing and cosmetics, as well as their pharmaceutical and medical uses. Current trends in flavonoid research are also briefly described, including the mining of new functional genes and metabolites through omics research and the engineering of flavonoids using nanotechnology. This review provides a reference for basic and applied research on flavonoid compounds.