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Review
. 2013 Aug 28;5(9):3367-87.
doi: 10.3390/nu5093367.

Flavonoid bioavailability and attempts for bioavailability enhancement

Surangi H Thilakarathna  1 , H P Vasantha Rupasinghe
Affiliations
Review

Flavonoid bioavailability and attempts for bioavailability enhancement

Surangi H Thilakarathna et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals that have shown numerous health effects and have therefore been studied extensively. Of the six common food flavonoid classes, flavonols are distributed ubiquitously among different plant foods whereas appreciable amounts of isoflavones are found in leguminous plant-based foods. Flavonoids have shown promising health promoting effects in human cell culture, experimental animal and human clinical studies. They have shown antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory effects as well as ability to modulate cell signaling and gene expression related disease development. Low bioavailability of flavonoids has been a concern as it can limit or even hinder their health effects. Therefore, attempts to improve their bioavailability in order to improve the efficacy of flavonoids are being studied. Further investigations on bioavailability are warranted as it is a determining factor for flavonoid biological activity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
General chemical structure of flavonoids.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A simplified schematic of human flavonoid metabolism. Ingested flavonoids undergo extensive intestinal metabolism. Metabolites are then transported to the liver via hepatic portal vein and undergo further metabolism. The liver metabolites can be transported to targeted cells and tissues, excreted to bile and undergo enterohepatic re-circulation, or eliminated via urine and/or feces. The aglycones or flavonoid metabolites that reach the colon can undergo microbial degradation and reabsorption (LPH: lactase-phlorizin hydrolase; adapted from [43] with modifications).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Degradation products of anthocyanins. (i) Protocatechuic acid; (ii) Phloroglucinaldehyde.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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