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Flavonoids as a library of privileged structures - what are the gains?

Grzegorz Grynkiewicz

Background: Flavonoids constitute the main, and biogenetically uniform category of plant phenolics, which are ubiquitous and recognized as minor and non-nutrient food components, which can significantly influence human health; e.g. their pronounced anti-oxidative properties are believed to be beneficial through inhibiting inflammatory processes. Although great many contemporary drugs are derived from natural sources, primary from plant secondary metabolites these sources of inspiration are relatively seldom discussed in context of growing demand for new medicines needed to battle current epidemics.

Methods: A need for interdisciplinary discussion on natural product constituents which are present in recommended human diet is brought up, since their metabolic, epigenetic and pharmacological effects, which can be summarized as a life style factor, are likely to be no less important for human well-being than pharmacological intervention after a diagnosis. Example of flavonoid sub-categories compounds, such as flavanols, catechins and isoflavones, which are present in everyday food and beverages are discussed in terms of their biological activities and mechanisms of their pharmacological action, also in view of their possible role as new drug leads and new drug candidates.

Conclusions: Natural products, such as flavonoids, feature some health beneficial activities, which are notoriously difficult to exploit for pharmaceutical purposes, because of their low bio availabilities and rapid metabolism. Recently, combined effort of medicinal and synthetic chemistry has succeeded in demonstrating how fruitful the inspiration of privileged flavonoid structures can be for drug design and development.