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Flavones and Flavonols: Phytochemistry and Biochemistry

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Natural Products

Abstract

Flavonoids are natural products widely distributed in the plant kingdom and currently consumed in large amounts in the daily diet. These are categorized according to their molecular structures into flavonols, flavones, flavanones, catechins, anthocyanidins, dihydroflavonols, isoflavones and chalcones. Among them, flavones and flavonols define the largest subgroups. The diverse functions of flavones and flavonols in plants as well as their various roles in the interaction with other organisms offer many potential applications, not only in plant breeding but also in ecology, agriculture, and human nutrition and pharmacology. In this chapter, we focus mainly on the occurrence and biosynthesis of flavones and flavonols, their biological functions in plants and animals, and metabolic engineering strategies of flavone and flavonol pathway in plants.

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Abbreviations

2OGD:

2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases

4CL:

4-coumarate: CoA ligase

ACC:

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase

C4H:

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase

CHI:

Chalcone isomerase

CHS:

Chalcone synthase

DHFs:

Dihydroflavonols

F3H:

Flavanone 3β-hydroxylase

FNS:

Flavone synthases

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

NPA:

Naphthylphthalamic acid

OMT:

O-methyl transferase

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

PAPS:

3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

STs:

Sulfotransferases

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, 148 Xuefu Road, 154007, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang, China

    Dr. Qiang Zhang & Hongbin Qiu

  2. Key Laboratory of Dairy Science of Ministry of Education, Department of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, 59 Mucai Street, 150030, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China

    Xinhuai Zhao

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  1. Dr. Qiang Zhang
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  2. Xinhuai Zhao
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  3. Hongbin Qiu
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Correspondence to Qiang Zhang .

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  1. Botany Department, M.L. Sukhadia University, Durga Nursery Road, Udaipur, 313001, Rajasthan, India

    Kishan Gopal Ramawat

  2. Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, Biological-Active Plant Substances Study, University of Bordeaux, 210 Chemin de Leysotte CS 50008, Villenave d'Ornon, 33882, France

    Jean-Michel Mérillon

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Zhang, Q., Zhao, X., Qiu, H. (2013). Flavones and Flavonols: Phytochemistry and Biochemistry. In: Ramawat, K., Mérillon, JM. (eds) Natural Products. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22144-6_60

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