This study aims to evaluate the changes of flavonoid contents and antioxidants activity of Jeju native citrus fruits juice according to the harvest date. Flavonoids such as quercatagetin, narirutin, hesperidin and neohesperidin were contained most plentifully in the juice of Jigak (Citrus aur- antium) by 573.73 mg/100 mL, Sadoogam (C. pseudogulgul) by 393.99 mg /100 mL, Soyooja by 29.63 mg/100 mL and Jigak (C. aurantium) by 201.23 mg/100 mL in the late August, respectively. The highest contents of nob-iletin, sinensetin and tangeretin among polymethoxyflavones were found in the juice of Hongkyool (C. tachibana) by 7.39 mg/100 mL, 2.24 mg/100 mL, 0.63 mg/100 mL in the late August, respectively. 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'- Heptamet- hoxyflavone recorded the highest amount in Punkyool (C. tangerina) by 0.27 mg/100 mL in the late August, but the other polymethoxyflavones including 3',4',7,8-tetramethoxyflavone, 3',4'-dimethoxyflavone, 4'-methoxyflavone, 5,6,7,3',4',5'-hexamethoxyflavone, scutellarein tetramethylether were observed only trace amount in all the citrus fruits. Flavonoid contents in the citrus fruit juices were the highest during early maturation and decreased rapidly while ripening. Total polyphenol contents were the highest in the late August and decreased with ripening. However from the late December, the contents were increased again. Antioxidant activities of the fruits were evaluated as electron donating ability and were the lowest in the late September and increased with the fruit ripening. These results suggest that quercetagetin among all the flavonoids was most plentiful in Jigak and Dangyooja (C. grandis), so that the fruits could be used for industrial material of flavonoids and antioxidant agents.
Antioxidants ; Apigenin ; Chromones ; Citrus ; Disaccharides ; Electrons ; Flavanones ; Flavones ; Flavonoids ; Fruit ; Hesperidin

OBJECTIVETo establish a HPLC-based method for simultaneous determination of 2 classes of compounds (flavonoids and chromones) and 6 their effective components,(including prin-O-glucosylcimifugin, cimifugin, 4'-O-beta-D-glucosyl- 5-O-methylvisamminol, quercetin, sec-o-glucosylhamaudol and formononetin), in Yupingfeng Decoction.

METHODSHPLC-based separation of the agents was performed on Agilent Extend-C(18) column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) at 25 degrees with the mobile phase of MeOH-1% acetic acid water solution (gradient elution), flow rate of 0.8 ml/min and detection wavelength of 254 nm.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONHPLC allowed simultaneous quantitative determination of the 6 components in Yupingfeng Decoction, and they showed good linear relationships when their sample amount ranged 90-1810 ng, 97-1940 ng, 190-1906 ng, 105-3144 ng, 88-2625 ng and 109-3279 ng, respectively, with correlation coefficients all beyond 0.9999 and average recovery rates of 98.2%, 99.1%, 97.3%, 97.8%, 98.8% and 99.2%, respectively. This simple and convenient method accommodated a broad linear range with high sensitivity and precise and reproducible results.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Chromones ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Isoflavones ; analysis ; Quercetin ; analysis ; Reproducibility of Results

Excessive accumulation of beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) is one of the major mechanisms responsible for neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease. Flavonoids, primarily antioxidants, are a group of polyphenolic compounds synthesized in plant cells. The present study aimed to identify flavonoid compounds that could inhibit Abeta-induced neuronal death by examining the effects of various flavonoids on the neurotoxicity of Abeta fragment 25-35 (Abeta25-35) in mouse cortical cultures. Abeta25-35 induced concentration- and exposure-time-dependent neuronal death. Neuronal death induced by 20 microM Abeta25-35 was significantly inhibited by treatment with either Trolox or ascorbic acid. Among 10 flavonoid compounds tested [apigenin, baicalein, catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin, quercetin, and rutin], all except apigenin showed strong 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity under cell-free conditions. The flavonoid compounds except apigenin at a concentration of 30 microM also significantly inhibited neuronal death induced by 20 microM Abeta25-35 at the end of 24 hours of exposure. Epicatechin, EGCG, luteolin, and myricetin showed more potent and persistent neuroprotective action than did the other compounds. These results demonstrated that oxidative stress was involved in Abeta-induced neuronal death, and antioxidative flavonoid compounds, especially epicatechin, EGCG, luteolin, and myricetin, could inhibit neuronal death. These findings suggest that these four compounds may be developed as neuroprotective agents against Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer Disease ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Apigenin ; Ascorbic Acid ; Catechin ; Flavonoids ; Luteolin ; Mice ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Oxidative Stress ; Plant Cells ; Quercetin

Flavonoids have been hypothesized to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, but the lack of a flavonoid database hampered epidemiological studies addressing this issue in Korea. In this study, we developed a flavonoid database, based on a systematic review. A total of 1549 food items containing flavonoids were selected using the Korean Nutrient Database. Among them, flavonoid contents for only 649 food items were evaluated with analytical values and the remaining 900 items were replaced with adaptations or calculations from similar items. The developed flavonoid database covered 93.2% of fruits and fruit juices, 76.1% of vegetables, 98.4% of legumes and legume products, and 85.0% of all plant foods overall (1,549 items) as reported by the 24-hr dietary recall method regarding the 2008 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We found that this flavonoid database, overall, included 95.6% of all mainly consumed plant foods by Koreans. This flavonoid database is expected to be useful in regards to the correlation study of flavonoid intake and chronic diseases.
Anthocyanins ; Chronic Disease ; Fabaceae ; Flavones ; Flavonoids ; Flavonols ; Fruit ; Isoflavones ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Plants ; Statistics as Topic ; Vegetables

The present study was attempted to investigate and compare the antioxidant potency of several well-know flavonoids, antioxidant vitamin and commercially available popular beverages. The antioxidant potency was assessed by the effect on reducing oxidative DNA damage of human lymphocytes. Cellular oxidative DNA damage was measured by SCGE (single-cell gel electrophoresis), also known as comet assay. Lymphocytes were pre-treated for 30 minutes with wide ranges of doses of apigenin, kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin, rutin, quercetin, alpha-tocopherol (10,25,50,100,200,500,1000 micrometer) ,green tea extract or grape juice (10,50,100,250,500,1000 microgram/mL) followed by a H2O2(100 micrometer) treatment for 5 min as an oxidative stimulus. The physiological function of each antioxidant substance on oxidative DNA damage was analyzed as tail moment (tail length X percentage migrated DNA in tail) and expressed as relative DNA damage score after adjusting by the level of control treatment. Cells treated with H2O2 alone (positive control) had an extensive DNA damage compared with cells treated with phosphate buffered saline (PBS, negative control) or pre-treated with all the tested samples. Of all the six flavonoids, quercetin was the most potent antioxidant showing the lowest ED50 of 8.5 microgram/mL (concentration to produce 50% protection of relative DNA damage). The antoxidant potency of individual flavonoids were ranked as follows in a decreasing order; luteolin (18.4 microgram/mL), myricetin (19.0 microgram/mL) , rutin (22.2 microgram/mL) , apigenin (24,3 microgram/mL) , kaempferol (25.5 microgram/mL). The protective effect of alpha-tocopherol was substantially lower (highest ED50 value of 55.0 microgram/mL) than all the other flavonoids, while the protective effect was highest in green tea and grape juice with low ED5O value of 7.6 and 5.3, respectively. These results suggest that flavonoids, especially quercetin, and natural compounds from food product, green tea and grape juice, produced powerful anti-oxidative activities, even stronger than alpha-tocopherol. Taken together, supplementation of antioxidants to lymphocytes followed by oxidative stimulus inhibited damage to cellular DNA, supporting a protective effect against oxidative damage induced by reactive oxygen species.
alpha-Tocopherol ; Antioxidants ; Apigenin ; Beverages ; Comet Assay* ; DNA Damage* ; DNA* ; Flavonoids* ; Humans ; Luteolin ; Lymphocytes* ; Quercetin ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Rutin ; Tea ; Vitamins ; Vitis

OBJECTIVETo develop a RP-HPLC method for the determination of quercetin, luteolin, apigenin and acacetin in Flos Chrysanthemi indici.

METHODAn Eclipse XDB-C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) was used at 25 degrees C with the mobile phases of methanol-0.2% phosphatic acid in a gradient manner. The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was 350 nm.

RESULTThe linear response ranged from 1.02-20.48 mg x L(-1) for quercetin (r = 0.9994, n = 5), 1.03-20.54 mg x L(-1) for luteolin (r = 0.9992, n = 5), 1.12-22.40 mg x L(-1) for apigenin (r = 0.9995, n = 5), 1.01-20.22 mg x L(-1) for acacetin (r = 0.9998, n = 5), respectively. Recoveries were 101.3% with RSD 1.3% for quercetin, 100.62% with RSD 1.4% for luteolin, 98.42% with RSD 1.7% for apigenin and 99.02% with RSD 0.8% for acacetin. A significant difference (alpha = 0.01) among the contents of four flavonoids and total flavonoids was found.

CONCLUSIONThe method is quick, simple and repeatable for simultaneous determination of quercetin, luteolin, apigenin and acacetin in Flos Chrysanthemi Indici.

Apigenin ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Chromatography, Reverse-Phase ; methods ; Chrysanthemum ; chemistry ; Flavones ; analysis ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Luteolin ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Quercetin ; analysis

To study the chemical constituents from the root of Berchemia lineata (L.) DC., nine compounds were isolated from the EtOAc extract by using silica gel, RP-C18 silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Based on the spectroscopic analysis, their structures were identified as 5-hydroxy-7-(2'-hydroxypropyl)-2-methyl-chromone (1), (-)-(1'R, 2'S)-erythro-5-hydroxy-7-(1', 2'-dihydroxypropyl)-2-methyl-chromone (2), naringenin (3), eriodictyol (4), (+)-aromadendrin (5), (+)-taxifolin (6), (+)-catechin (7), (+)-epigallocatechin (8) and quercetin (9). Among them, compound 2 is a new chromone derivative. Compound 1 is a known chromone derivative and isolated from this genus for the first time. Compounds 3-9 are known flavonoids and isolated from this plant for the first time.
Catechin ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Chromones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Flavanones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quercetin ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Rhamnaceae ; chemistry

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones in sodium chloride(NaCl)-treated suspension cells of Aquilaria sinensis was conducted by UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS and UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Both analyses were performed on a Waters T3 column(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.8 μm) with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution(A)-acetonitrile(B) as mobile phases at gradient elution. MS data were collected by electrospray ionization in positive ion mode. Forty-seven phenylethylchromones was identified from NaCl-treated suspension cell samples of A. sinensis using UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS, including 22 flindersia-type 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones and their glycosides, 10 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones and 15 mono-epoxy or diepoxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones. Additionally, 25 phenylethylchromones were quantitated by UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS. Overall, the rapid and efficient qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenylethylchromones in NaCl-treated suspension cells of A. sinensis by two LC-MS techniques, provides an important reference for the yield of phenylethylchromones in Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum using in vitro culture and other biotechnologies.
Chromones ; Sodium Chloride ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Flavonoids ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Thymelaeaceae

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the association of food security with the total and individual flavonoid intakes among Korean adults. METHODS: Study subjects were 13,454 men and 19,563 women aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2007~2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were classified into food-secure and food-insecure groups using the answers to a self-reported question on food sufficiency of subjects' household. The total and individual flavonoid intakes were calculated by linking 24-h dietary recall data of subjects with a flavonoid database. Mean differences in dietary outcomes by food security status, and major food sources of total flavonoids were examined. RESULTS: In this cross-sectional study, 5.8% of male adults and 6.6% of female adults were in food insecure households. Mean daily intakes of total flavonoids, flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, isoflavones, and proanthocyanidins were significantly lower in food-insecure groups than food-secure groups among both male and female adults. The differences were maintained in total flavonoids, flavones, flavanones, and flavan-3-ols after adjusting for total energy intake. Mean intakes of fruits and vegetables were significantly lower in food-insecure groups and the total flavonoid intake from fruits and vegetables was also significantly lower in food-insecure groups. The major food sources of total flavonoids were apples (20.7%), mandarines (12.0%), and tofu (11.5%) in the food-secure group, and apples (14.9%), tofu (13.3%), and mandarines (12.6%) in the food-insecure group. CONCLUSION: This study showed that food insecurity was associated with lower intakes of flavonoids and reduced intakes of fruits and vegetables in a representative Korean population.
Adult* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Energy Intake ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Flavanones ; Flavones ; Flavonoids ; Flavonols ; Food Supply* ; Fruit ; Humans ; Isoflavones ; Korea* ; Male ; Malus ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Proanthocyanidins ; Soy Foods ; Vegetables

Perennial herb Hymenocallis littoralis(Amaryllidaceae) boasts anti-tumor, anti-virus, and anti-inflammatory activities. As the representative constituents, alkaloids have attracted much attention, whereas the non-alkaloid constituents have been rarely reported. Therefore, this study investigated the non-alkaloid constituents of H. littoralis and their contribution to the various pharmacological activities of the herb. Thirteen non-alkaloid compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of dried whole plant of H. littoralis after a series of chromatographic separation steps and spectral analysis, and they were identified as 5,7-dihydroxy-6,8-dimethoxy-2-hydroxymethyl-4H-chromoen-4-one(1), undulatoside A(2),(2S)-7,4'-dihydroxyflavane(3), naringenin(4), 4',7-hydroxy-8-methylflavanone(5), 8-methylnaringenin(6), 8-demethylfarrerol(7), 6-methyl-aromadendrin(8), 4',5,7-trihydroxy-8-methylflavanone(9), syzalterin(10), 6-methylapigenin(11), isoliquiritigenin(12), and undatuside C(13) based on the spectroscopic data analysis. Among them, compound 1 was a new chromone derivative, and compounds 2 and 4-13 were isolated form this plant for the first time.
Alkaloids ; Amaryllidaceae ; Chromones ; Liliaceae