Flavonols from onions

Glycosides of flavonols from onions, such as quercetin-4 -0-glucoside and quercetin-3 -0-methyl-4 -0-glucoside, have been found in the plasma of volunteers with a peak of absorption of 0.5 - 4 h [64]. 

In the study on colorectal cancer (Table 20.4), a reduced risk was found for increasing intake of anthocyanidins (OR, 0.67 for the highest versus the lowest quintile,p-trend, 0.001), flavonols (OR, 0.64,p-trend < 0.001), flavones (OR, 0.78, p-trend, 0.004), and isoflavones (OR, 0.76, p-trend, 0.001). [Rossi et al., 2006], The estimates did not substantially differ for colon and rectal cancers. After allowance for fruit and vegetable consumption, for dietary fiber, or for micronutrients previously associated to this tumor including vitamin C, the associations with flavonoids did not change by more than 10%. A recent case-control study of 1456 pairs of cases and controls conducted in Sweden confirmed a significant decrease in risk of colorectal cancer for intake of anthocyanidins and flavonols [Theodoratou et al., 2007], but there was no relation for isoflavones and flavones. However, the results on isoflavones and flavones are questionable due to the unusually and generally low intakes of the populations studied. In the Italian population, anthocyanidins were derived mainly from wine, red fruit, and onions, and flavonols from apples or pears, wine, and mixed salads. 

FIGURE 19.9 HPLC chromatogram of standards of phenolic acids, flavonols, flavones, and glycosides isolated in onions and spinach. (From Nnntila, A.M. et al., Food Chem., 76, 519, 2002. Copyright 2002. With permission from Elsevier.)... 

The flavonoid database described in this chapter was applied to 4-day weighed food records obtained from healthy Scottish men n = 41) and women ( = 52) to provide a provisional estimate of flavonoid intake in Scotland. All subjects consumed foods containing flavonols, procyanidins, and catechins, dietary intakes of which are given in Table 4.15. The main flavonol consumed was quercetin, accounting for 66 and 63% of the total flavonol intake of 18.8 mg/day. Primary sources of flavonols were from black tea (42.7%), onions (14.3%), apples (10.2%i), and lager (7.2%i) (Table 4.16). 

Two classes of dimeric anthocyanins isolated from plants (section 10.2.6) have been identified in plants for the first time. One class includes pigments where an anthocyanin and a flavone or flavonol are linked to each end of a dicarboxylic acyl unit. The other class includes four different catechins linked covalently to pelargonidin 3-glucoside. During the last decade, seven new desoxyanthocyanidins and a novel type of anthocyanidin called P)Tanoanthocyanidins have been reported (Section 10.2.2). Toward the end of the 20th century, several color-stable 4-substituted anthocyanins, pyranoanthocyanins, were discovered in small amounts in red wine and grape pomace.Recently, similar compounds have been isolated from extracts of petals of Rosa hybrida cv. M me Violet, scales of red onion, and strawberries. About 94% of the new anthocyanins in the period of this review are based on only six anthocyanidins (Table 10.2). 

Price KR, Rhodes MJC. Analysis of the major flavonol glycosides present in four varieties of onion Ahum cepa) and changes in composition resulting from autolysis. J Sci Food Agric 1997 74 331-339. 

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