Flavonoids of the Caryophyllaceae

Abstract

AbstractThe plant family Caryophyllaceae, commonly known as the pink family, is divided into 3 subfamilies and contains over 80 genera with more than 2600 species that are widely distributed in temperate climate zones. Plants belonging to this family produce a variety of secondary metabolites important in an ecological context; however, some of these metabolites also show health-promoting activities. The most important classes of phytochemicals include saponins, phytoecdysteroids, other sterols, flavonoids, lignans, other polyphenols, essential oils, andN-containing compounds such as vitamins, alkaloids or cyclopeptides. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that remain one of the most extensively studied constituents of the Caryophyllaceae family. Numerous structurally diverse aglycones, including flavones, flavonols, flavonones (dihydroflavones), flavonols, isoflavones, and theirO- orC-glycosides, exhibit multiple interesting biological and pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-oedemic, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory effects. Thus, this review analysed the flavonoid composition of 26 different genera and more than 120 species of Caryophyllaceae for the first time.