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Polyphenols (/ ˌ p ɒ l i ˈ f iː n oʊ l,-n ɒ l /) are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. [1] They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. [1] [2] [3] Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as dyes and for tanning garments.
The main source of polyphenols is dietary, since they are found in a wide array of phytochemical-bearing foods.For example, honey; most legumes; fruits such as apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, pomegranate, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, raspberries, aronia berries, and strawberries (berries in general have high polyphenol content [5]) and vegetables such as broccoli ...
The phenolic unit can be found dimerized or further polymerized, creating a new class of polyphenol. For example, ellagic acid is a dimer of gallic acid and forms the class of ellagitannins, or a catechin and a gallocatechin can combine to form the red compound theaflavin, a process that also results in the large class of brown thearubigins in tea.
Phenolic compounds are classified as simple phenols or polyphenols based on the number of phenol units in the molecule. Phenol – the simplest of the phenols Chemical structure of salicylic acid, the active metabolite of aspirin. Phenols are both synthesized industrially and produced by plants and microorganisms. [2]
The terms flavonoid and bioflavonoid have also been more loosely used to describe non-ketone polyhydroxy polyphenol compounds, which are more specifically termed flavanoids. The three cycles or heterocycles in the flavonoid backbone are generally called ring A, B, and C. [ 2 ] Ring A usually shows a phloroglucinol substitution pattern.
A bioactive compound is a compound that has an effect on a living organism, tissue or cell, usually demonstrated by basic research in vitro or in vivo in the laboratory. While dietary nutrients are essential to life, bioactive compounds have not been proved to be essential – as the body can function without them – or because their actions are obscured by nutrients fulfilling the function.
Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols found in many plants, such as cranberry, blueberry, and grape seeds. Chemically, they are oligomeric flavonoids. Many are oligomers of catechin and epicatechin and their gallic acid esters. More complex polyphenols, having the same polymeric building block, form the group of condensed tannins.
Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol or polyphenol and a phytoalexin produced by several plants in response to injury or when the plant is under attack by pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi.