Phytochemical Analysis

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, VOL.
6, 55 (1995)
Book Review
J . B. H A R B O R N E (ED.)
The Flavonoids- Advances in Research
since 1986
Chapman & Hall, London, U . K . 1994,
f195.00, 676 pp. ISBN 0-412-48070-0.
This book is a new work in The
Flavonoids series, and constitutes a
comprehensive review of the primary
scientific literature published between
1986 and 1991. It can be also regarded
as a third supplement to the original
volume The Flavonoids published in
1975 (Harborne, J. B., Mabry, T. J. and
Mabry, H. Eds.). The first supplement
The Flavonoids: Advances in Research
appeared in 1982 and covered the 19751980 literature, whilst the second, The
Flauonoids: Advances in Research since
1980 was published in 1988 and covered
the 1981-1985 literature.
The first part (chapters 1-9) of the
book presently under review covers the
chemistry of the new structures
reported during 1986-1991 in relationship to earlier known structures, and
the contributors also discuss the natural
distribution of each class of flavonoid.
These chapters include Anthocyanins
(D. Strack and V. Wray), Flavans and
proanthocyanidins (L. J. Porter),
C-Glycosylflavonoids (M. Jay), Bioflavonoids and triflavonoids (H. Geiger),
Isoflavonoids (P. M. Dewick), Neoflavonoids (D. M. X. Donnelly and G.
Boland), Flavones and flavonols (E.
Wollenweber), Flavone and flavonol
glycosides (C. A . Williams and J. B.
Harborne) and Minor flavonoids
(including chalcones, dihydrochalcones,
aurones, flavanones, dihydroflavonols,
etc.) (B. A . Bohm). Whilst a complete
list of all known flavonoids is not
provided (since this was published in
the last supplement), a complementary
checklist of known natural isoflavonoid
aglycones, and flavone and flavonol glycosides, as well as a useful alphabetical
list of isoflavonoid trivial names are
included in this volume.
In these chapters the methodology of
flavonoid analysis has been largely
omitted since comprehensive publications on this topic have recently
appeared. There is, however, a very
01995 by John Wilcy & Sons, Ltd
interesting and useful chapter on the H

nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of flavonoids in hexadeuterodimethylsulphoxide (K. R. Markham
and H. Geiger, chapter 10). This contribution fills a gap ion the application of
H NMR techniques to flavonoid analysis, since the last relevant review of this
topic was in 1970 and considered mainly
CC14-soluble flavonoid trimethylsilyl
ether derivatives. In recent years the
use of these derivatives has been largely
superseded, and the NMR spectra of
flavonoids are generally measured in
DMSO-d,. This chapter also covers the
application of recent techniques, including two-dimensional techniques
(COSY, NOE, NOESY, ROESY and
H O H A H A ) , to the analysis of flavonoids. In addition 73 spectra of different
flavonoids are included in an appendix,
and constitute the first published collection of flavonoidH NMR spectra in
DMSO-d,.
Chapter 11 (W. Heller and G.
Forkmann) is devoted to the biosynthesis and molecular biology of flavonoids
and includes a general overview of the
advances in flavonoid biosynthesis, a
review of the pathways producing the
precursors o f flavonid formation, the
major steps in the flavonoid pathway,
and the individual steps to flavonoid
modification (hydroxylation, methylation, glycosylation, etc.). Chapter 12 is
devoted to the genetics of flavonoid
production ( G . Forkmann) and provides the first modern account of the
mode of inheritance of anthocyanin pigments in plants, including both general
and molecular genetics, in which details
are given for all the structural genes
involved in flavonoid biosynthesis which
have been cloned to date.
The function of flavonoids is covered
in three chapters. The first deals with
the role of Havonoids in flower colour
(R. Brouillard and 0. Dangles, chapter
13) and includes a review of yellow and
colourless flavonoids and anthocyanins,
as well as the different aspects of molecular complexation and investigations in
uivo. In a second chapter the effects of
flavonoids o n insects are reviewed. (J.
B. Harborne and R. Grayer, chapter
14) including details of the role of flavonoids in pollination biology, insect feeding, insect oviposition, and insect pest
management. The last chapter is
devoted to the impact of plant flavonoids on man and other mammals ( E .
Middleton and C. Kandaswami, chapter
15) and covers the recent advances in
the effects of flavonoids on enzyme
systems, their role in modulation of the
immune and inflammatory cell functions, their effect on smooth muscle,
their antitoxic and hepatoprotective
effects, their antiviral and endocrine
effects, their role on lipid peroxidation
and free radical production, and a
review of the cancer-related properties
of flavonoids.
The editor and authors deserve to be
congratulated for producing such a well
written and presented book which
maintains the high standards of the previously published volumes in this series.
The book has a full plant species and
subject index which permits the easy
and quick location of structures and
plant species of interest, and is fully
referenced to the primary literature
(more than 3600 references are given)
making it an absolute necessity for
those scientists dealing with flavonoids
and related topics. This book should
take its place alongside the previous
supplements in The Ffuuonoids series,
in the libraries of every research group
working on flavonoids. In addition, this
work is highly recommended for plant
biochemists, botanists, natural product
chemists, phytochemists, pharmacognosists, chemical ecologists, and pharmaceutical and medicinal scientists. The
high price will prevent purchase for
many personal libraries, but the book
should be part of every academic,
industrial, and governmental library.
FRANCISCO A.
TOMAS-B ARBERAN
Laboratorio de Fitoquimica
CEBAS (CSIC)
Murcia, Spain
April 1994

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PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, VOL.

01995 by John Wilcy & Sons, Ltd

interesting and useful chapter on the H

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