Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a class of polyphenol secondary metabolites which are abundantly present in plants and diets. Flavonoids have the general structure of a 15-carbon skeleton, which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and heterocyclic ring (C). This carbon structure can be abbreviated C6-C3-C6. Depending on the structure of the C-ring, they can be divided into a variety of chemical classes such as flavones, flavonols, Chalcones, Isoflavanones, Anthocyans, Biflavones, and others, etc. Their classes differ in the level of oxidation and pattern of substitution of the pyran ring. Flavonoids have diverse biological activities which include, anti-oxidant activity, free radical scavenging activity, coronary heart disease prevention, hepatoprotective activity, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities, while some flavonoids also exhibit potential antiviral activities.