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Many foods in our diets such as berries, tea, chocolate and wine contain flavonoids, which are natural components of plants. A substantial body of evidence supports the role of flavonoids in providing protection against cardio-metabolic diseases and disorders. Despite the nearly exponential growth in flavonoid research in the past 20 years, limited progress has been made in understanding how these dietary components work. Research initially focused on their antioxidant activity without taking into account their metabolism, which now appears extensive. This has provided a new research impetus to understand the biological activity of the flavonoid metabolites. Here, we outline recent research, which suggests a highly complex interplay between metabolism, intestinal microflora, the immune system and various tissues of our body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose Anthocyanins are phytochemicals with reported vasoactive bioactivity. However, given their instability at neutral pH, they are presumed to undergo significant degradation and subsequent biotransformation. The aim of the present study was to establish the pharmacokinetics of the metabolites of cyanidin-3-glucoside ( C3G), a widely consumed dietary phytochemical with potential cardioprotective properties. Experimental Approach A 500 mg oral bolus dose of 6,8,10,3′,5′- 13C5-C3G was fed to eight healthy male participants, followed by a 48 h collection (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 24, 48 h) of blood, urine and faecal samples. Samples were analysed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS with elimination kinetics established using non-compartmental pharmacokinetic modelling. Key Results Seventeen 13C-labelled compounds were identified in the serum, including 13C5-C3G, its degradation products, protocatechuic acid ( PCA) and phloroglucinaldehyde ( PGA), 13 metabolites of PCA and 1 metabolite derived from PGA. The maximal concentrations of the phenolic metabolites ( Cmax) ranged from 10 to 2000 nM, between 2 and 30 h ( tmax) post-consumption, with half-lives of elimination observed between 0.5 and 96 h. The major phenolic metabolites identified were hippuric acid and ferulic acid, which peaked in the serum at approximately 16 and 8 h respectively. Conclusions and Implications Anthocyanins are metabolized to a structurally diverse range of metabolites that exhibit dynamic kinetic profiles. Understanding the elimination kinetics of these metabolites is key to the design of future studies examining their utility in dietary interventions or as therapeutics for disease risk reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]