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

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

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate dietary flavonoids intake of Korean adolescents. METHODS: Using data from the 2007-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a total of 3,957 subjects aged 12-18 were included in this study. We estimated individual daily intake of total flavonoid and six flavonoid classes including flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanidins, and isoflavones by linking food consumption data with the flavonoids in the commonly consumed food database. The distribution of sociodemographic, health-related, and dietary factors according to flavonoids intake was examined. RESULTS: Average dietary flavonoids intake of the study subjects was 195.6 mg/d in girls, and 189.4 mg/d in boys. The highest flavonoids intake group consumed significantly more fiber, vitamin C, legumes, fruits, and vegetables (p < 0.01) and less fat, grains, meats and dairy foods than other lower consumption groups (p < 0.001). Dietary flavonoid intake showed negative correlation with waist circumference and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study provided basic data for estimation of flavonoids intake of Korean adolescents. Further research will be required for analysis of the association of flavonoids intake and health-related factors such as cardiovascular risk factors.
Adolescent* ; Anthocyanins ; Ascorbic Acid ; Blood Pressure ; Edible Grain ; Fabaceae ; Female ; Flavanones ; Flavones ; Flavonoids* ; Flavonols ; Fruit ; Humans ; Isoflavones ; Korea* ; Meat ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Risk Factors ; Vegetables ; Waist Circumference

AIMTo establish the method of HPLC-fingerprint analysis for the quality control of Dalbergia odorifera and identify its main constituents by HPLC-MS.

METHODSThe 37 hatches of samples were analyzed on a Phenomenex Luna C18 column with a gradient of acetonitrile and 0.3% aqueous acetic acid at a flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1) and detected at 275 nm. Furthermore, the typical samples were detected by HPLC-DAD-MS under negative ion mode.

RESULTS37 batches of D. odorifera samples were classified into three types based on the results of similarity analysis. According to the comparison of the tR, MS data and UV maximum absorbance (gamma(max)) values with the standards, 10, 7 and 2 phenolic components were identified in three types of D. odorifera extracts, separately.

CONCLUSIONThe method is repeatable and reliable, and it is capable of effectively controlling the quality of D. odorifera.

Benzopyrans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Chromones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Dalbergia ; chemistry ; Flavanones ; isolation & purification ; Isoflavones ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Fourteen compounds were isolated from the stem of Angelica polymorpha. On the basis of spectral data, these compounds were identified as isoimperatorin (1), phellopterin (2), bergapten (3), xanthyletin (4), cnidilin (5), geijerine (6), (−)-3'-acetyl hamaudol (7), 7-demethylsuberosine (8), dehydrogeijerin (9), (−)-hamaudol (10), (+)-visamminol (11), divaricatol (12), scopoletin (13), and decursidate (14), respectively. Among them, compounds 4 - 6, 8, 9, 13, and 14 were isolated for the first time from A. polymorpha. Dehydrogeijerin (6) and geijerin (9) were isolated for the first time from genus Angelica. All isolates tested for inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterae. Compounds 1 to 13 showed acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.4 to 37.5 µM.
Acetylcholinesterase* ; Angelica* ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors* ; Chromones ; Coumarins ; Scopoletin

Saposhnikovia divaricata is a commonly used bulk medicinal plant. To explore the key enzyme genes and their expression in the biosynthesis of chromone and coumarin, the key active components, we carried out transcriptome sequencing(Illumina HiSeq) and bioinformatics analysis for the 1-year-old(S1) and 2-year-old(S2) plants of S. divaricata. A total of 40.8 Gb data was obtained. After the sequence assembly via Trinity, 110 732 transcripts and 86 233 unigenes were obtained, which were aligned and annotated with NR, Swiss-Prot, GO, KEGG, and PFAM. Daucus carota and S. divaricata had the highest sequence homology. KEGG pathway enrichment showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in plant hormone signal transduction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. A total of 27 differentially expressed unigenes, including 13 enzyme genes, were identified in the pathways related to the synthesis of active ingredients in S. divaricata. Compared with S1 plant, S2 plant showed up-regulated expression of PAL, BGL, C4H, 4CL, CYP98A, CSE, REF, and CCoAOMT and down-regulated expression of CHS, CAD, and COMT. HCT and POD had both up-regulated and down-regulated unigenes. Among them, PAL, C4H, 4CL, BGL, and CHS can be used as candidate genes for the synthesis of the active ingredients in S. divaricata. The four key enzyme genes were verified by RT-qPCR, which showed the results consistent with transcriptome sequencing. This study enriches the genetic information of S. divaricata and provides support for the identification of candidate genes in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.
Apiaceae/genetics* ; Chromones ; Coumarins ; Flavonoids ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Transcriptome

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

Defatted dabai peel contains a high amount of anthocyanin. Anthocyanins are known to prevent several types of disease, including cardiovascular-related complications. This study aimed to describe the effects of different doses of defatted dabai peel extract by histopathological analyses on lesions in the liver, kidney, heart and aorta. Histopathology methods were applied to determine the protective effects of defatted dabai peel extracts against hypercholesterolemia-induced oxidative damages to animal organs. Haematoxylin and eosin staining was applied for histopathology examination for liver, kidney, heart and aorta. Data showed that a high dose of defatted dabai extract (3000 mg per day) applied to hypercholesterolemic rabbits for eight weeks had mild protective effect, especially reducing the severity of hepatic fibrosis and steatosis of the renal medulla. The high dose of extract supplementation also reduced inflammation of aorta and formation of atherosclerosis plaque in the cell wall of right ventricle of the heart. The high dose of defatted dabai peel extract could be a protective agent against oxidative stress.
Anthocyanins

OBJECTIVETo establish an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of nuzhenide, specnuezhenide, wedelolactone and oleanic acid in Erzhiwan.

METHODThe DIKMA C18 (4.6 mm x 200 mm, 5 microm) column was adopted with acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid solution as the mobile phase and gradient elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) and the volume of injection was 20 microL. The column temperature was maintained at 30 degrees C and the detective wavelength was set at 215 nm.

RESULTThere were good linear relationships between the peak area and concentration at the range of 2.008-80.32 (r = 0.999 6), 5.872-234.88 (r = 0.999 7) , 0.9-36 (r = 0.999 9), 13.24-529.6 mg x L(-1) (r = 0.999 6) for nuzhenide, specnuezhenide, wedelolactone and oleanic acid, respectively. The average recovery rates of nuzhenide, specnuezhenide, wedelolactone and oleanic acid were 99.25%, 98.70%, 96.23% and 101.5%, respectively, with RSD of less than 3%.

CONCLUSIONThe established method was so easy, rapid and accurate that it can be used as an effective way for quality control of Erzhiwan.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Coumarins ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Pyrans ; analysis

Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk (S. divaricata, Fangfeng) is a herb in the Apiaceae family, and its root has been used since the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.). Chromones and coumarins are the pharmacologically active substances in S. divaricata. Modern phytochemical and pharmacological studies have demonstrated their antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anticoagulant activities. Technological and analytical strategy theory advancements have yielded novel results; however, most investigations have been limited to the main active substances-chromones and coumarins. Hence, we reviewed studies related to the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of S. divaricata, analyzed the developing trends and challenges, and proposed that research should focus on components' synergistic effects. We also suggested that, the structure-effect relationship should be prioritized in advanced research.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Coumarins/pharmacology* ; Apiaceae/chemistry* ; Chromones