Flavonoids anise

The K-R reaction has also been useful for structural confirmation of natural products such as tambulin (71), a flavonoid isolated from the seeds of Xanthoxylum acanthopodium In the critical reaction (O-ethoxyphloroacetophenone (72) was allowed to react with anisic anhydride (38b) in the presence of sodium anisate (73) at 170 C to deliver flavone 74 in 65% yield. Flavone 74 was then converted after multiple steps to diethyl ether 75 which corresponded to the diethyl ether of tambulin (71). 

A methodological approach for an effective and reliable quality control of Chinese star anise [I. verum Hook. F.) was developed and validated by Lederer et al. (2006). A combined method of TLC and HPLC-MS/MS was used for differentiation ofvarious Ulicium species, especially Chinese and Japanese star anise. Species can be distinguished by their TLC flavonoid pattern. A sensitive and selective HPLC/ESI-MS/MS method was developed for the detection and quantification of lower admixtures of I. anisatum and of further toxic Ulicium species at a low concentration range using the sesquiterpene, lactone anisatin, as a marker. This assay includes a solid-phase extraction clean-up procedure with a high recovery (> 90%). 

Aniseed contains volatile oil, furanocou-marins, flavonoids, fatty acids, phenylpro-panoids, sterols and proteins. Anethole has an observed oestrogenic effect, and the seeds as a whole are mildly oestrogenic. This effect may substantiate the herb s use as a stimulant of breast-milk production (http //www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs anise.htm). 

C7H,o05, Mr 174.15. needles, D. 1.6, mp. 178-180°C, [a]g -157° (H2O), pKg4.15 (14.1 °C), soluble in water. S. is a widely distributed component of plants and occurs especially in fruits of the star anise (lllicium anisatum, syn. /. religiosum, Illiciaceae Japanese shi-kimi-no-ki). S. is a key intermediate of the so-called shikimic acid pathway which includes the biosynthesis of the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. These, in turn, are precursors of numerous alkaloids, flavonoids, and lignans, as well as 4-amino- and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, tetrahydrofolic acid, ubiquinones, vitamin K, and nicotinic acid. The synthetic racemate melts at 191-192 °C. 

The content of total flavonoids of ftesh vegetables, measured by high-performance hquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) after acid hydrolysis, is expressed as miUigrams per 100 g fresh weight [51], The flavonoid content of savory and coriander, cumin, fennel, and anise seeds is not known. 

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