Abstract
Citrus spp. are among the most widespread plants cultivated worldwide and every year millions of tons of fruit, juices, or processed compounds are produced and consumed, representing one of the main sources of nutrients in human diet. Among these, the flavonoids play a key role in providing a wide range of health beneficial effects. Apigenin, diosmetin, luteolin, acacetin, chrysoeriol, and their respective glycosides, that occur in concentrations up to 60 mg/L, are the most common flavones found in Citrus fruits and juices. The unique characteristics of their basic skeleton and the nature and position of the substituents have attracted and stimulated vigorous investigations as a consequence of an enormous biological potential, that manifests itself as (among other properties) antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. This review analyzes the biochemical, pharmacological, and biological properties of Citrus flavones, emphasizing their occurrence in Citrus spp. fruits and juices, on their bioavailability, and their ability to modulate signal cascades and key metabolic enzymes both in vitro and in vivo. Electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SciFinder were used to investigate recent published articles on Citrus spp. in terms of components and bioactivity potentials.
Highlights
Over the past few decades there has been a significant shift in the general attitude toward the relation between food, diet, and wellbeing
The metabolism of apigenin to luteolin has previously been reported in rats and it is mediated by the phase I enzyme cytochrome P450 [37]
Amongst other flavones widely distributed in fruits, plants, and spices, chrysin and apigenin showed moderate or low antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus, the Gram-negative bacteria being more susceptible to the natural compounds
Summary
Over the past few decades there has been a significant shift in the general attitude toward the relation between food, diet, and wellbeing. The flavonoid family formally descends from the basic skeleton of 2-phenyl-1,4-benzopyrone plant kingdom (especially plants), andclasses theirdisplay biosynthesis occurs via the pathway and (Figure 1), but green the different flavonoid many structural differences that, shikimate along with multiple substitution on the two aromatic and on the heterocyclic ring, account for the more than the phenylpropanoid metabolism [10] They play several roles in plants, providing protection from 8000 flavonoid derivatives isolated so far [9]. Many different flavones have been isolated in Citrus fruits and juices, they are often minor components of the flavonoid fraction Even though they can be found in their aglycone form, they are often seen substituted with mono- or disaccharide moieties at some or all of the OH groups, as well as at the 6- or 8-position with a C-glycosidic bond.
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