ABSTRACT
References ............................................................................................................603
Flavonoids occur widely in the natural diet in such items as fruits, vegetables, teas,
wine, nuts, seeds, and flowers and are important constituents of the human diet.
Flavonoids are a diverse group of natural products, and variation in the heterocyclic
C-ring gives rise to over 4000 chemically unique flavonoids that have been
identified in plants sources. On average, the daily Western diet contains
approximately 1 g of mixed flavonoids, a quantity that could provide pharma-
cologically significant concentrations in body fluids and tissues. The biological
effects of flavonoids include the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk, the
inhibition of hepatocytic autophagy, antiviral activity, anticlastogenic effects, an
anti-inflammatory analgesic effect, and an antiischemic effect.
