We are happy to announce that as of 31 May 2003, the National Institute for Food and Nutrition Science (OÉTI) registered the new members of the Flavin7® Product family. Due to the rigorous licensing procedures, these diet-supplement products meet the most rigorous European Union specifications as well. The products and their names are under trademark protection registration at the Hungarian Patent Office. We think that this marks the beginning of a new era. Since it was established, our company has put emphasis on the principle that the new scientific results, the developments and technological innovations connected to them can have a true effect if they are at our disposal in new products as soon as possible.
In addition to product development, our company has also started technological development. As a result of this, one of the most modern, 2,000 square metre food-supplement production plants will be opened in the near future. In certain parts of this plant, products will be manufactured under circumstances that meet even the most rigorous medicine production requirements.
In the interest of the high-level provision of product quality and safety, our company operates by applying the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point quality control system. The obtainment of the ISO certificate is underway. In addition to this, to certify originality, we provide our products with individual serial numbers, and to guarantee that the products are intact, we provide them with safety labels.
We are proud of the fact that since 1998, together with our employees and traders, we have the most amount of experience about the application of flavonoids. In the past five years, in addition to the 300,000 products used, research and development has been going on within our human examination program with the inclusion of close to 300 doctors and 2,000 patients. Furthermore, our work is helped by the acclaimed experts of the Scientific Research and Counselling Committee, working in conjunction with our company.
We are happy that as a result of our pioneering work carried out in the area of the research of flavonoids, there are several products with flavonoid ingredients on the market. We continue our research as this area still has a number of undiscovered possibilities for those who put emphasis on their health. Another reason why we are happy about the increasing competition is that it helps to turn the attention of more and more people towards the positive effects of flavonoids.
Flavonoids and antocianidines
The name flavonoid stands for a group of compounds, the members of which have a similar basic frame (flavon, izoflavon, etc.) to which OH (hydroxil) and CH3O (metoxi) groups are connected. These compounds occur partly freely, and partly in the form of their glycosids (attached to carbohydrate components) in the different plants. The sugar parts most frequently connect through the replacement of the hydrogen of the hydroxil group on the 3rd, 5th and 7th carbon atom, by sugar. They can be dissolved in water but they cannot be decomposed through hydrolysis. Higher-grade plants are really rich in aromatic compounds, a large group of which is constituted by poliphenol compounds (molecules containing several aromatic rings). One type of these is constituted by flavonoid phenols, and within that antocianines.
Flavonoids can be found mostly in the skin and seeds of fruits, or, for instance, in the tendril of grapes. In 1936, Rusznyák and Szent-Györgyi proved that they have an essential role in plants and have a vitamin-like effect in the human body. Among their further biological effects is their anti-bacterial, anthelmintic, liver-protection and anti-virus effect, blocking streptococcus mutants, and glycosil transfer enzymes -> preventing tooth decay, blocking lypoxigenese-dependent peroxidisation, bacteria-transferred anti-tumour effect: citostatic effect, the blocking of tumour promotion, the blocking of xantine – oxidase and mono – aminoxidase enzymes, boosting the growth of new skin in the event of burning / damage to the skin. Given their structure, with metal ions they form complexes (Fe, Mg, Cu, Al, etc.), and they have any enzyme-blocking effect; they are also able to form complexes with polysaccharides and proteins.
It is important to know about the physiological effect of flavonoids that they work mostly in the digestive and circulatory system. They inactivate the free radicals, and in the phospholipide layer of the bio-membranes they block lipid-peroxidisation, decrease the proportion of oxidised LDL, that is they decrease the danger of arteriosclerosis. They prevent thrombocyte aggregation and decrease the emergence of thrombus. They increase the stability of the vein walls. Their anti-tumour effect has been proven, they help the regeneration of vitamin E, they increase the level of vitamin C and β-carotine, and decrease the serum triglycerid level. They have hepatoprotective and sun-block effects. They play a part in arachidon-acid metabolism, they are anti-inflammatory. They decrease the long-term complications of diabetes mellitus, and they also have anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-allergenic effects.
Their reductive effect can be traced back to the unsaturated nature of the basic structure, as well as the oxidisation-reductive mechanism of the hydroxil groups of different location and number.
They can also exercise their anti-oxidant effect indirectly, by binding the metal ions catalysing the oxidation during the formation of the complex.
Their pharmacological effect is in decreasing the permeability of the blood and capillary vessels, therefore it is applied successfully in medicine, in the area of diseases related to capillary control (retina and kidney haemorrhaging, etc.).
The antocianidines, as well as their glycosids, the antocianines, form a group of compounds chemically related to flavonoids. The basic frame of antocianidines is flavilium cation. The antocianines is a group of blue, violet or red dies, which is rather common in the vegetable world, and which produce the colouration in flowers, fruits and sometimes leaves characteristic of the given plant. It has been examined that their colours change according to the chemical reaction. In acid reaction, the flavilium structure is of ionic structure (for instance, in the form of chloride salt). Antocianines can be found mostly in the 3-4 rows of cells under the skin of fruits.
Antocianines dissolve in water, while antocianidines (aglicons) do not. That is, the sugar part improves water-solubility and defends the sensitive antocianidine from the different chemical and enzyme influences.
About 1/60th of the amount of carbon bound in photosynthesis is used for the formation of flavonoids. From this proportion, we can make conclusions about the significance of these compounds. The biosynthesis of the poliphenol compounds can occur in plants in different ways. In general, we distinguish between three main steps:
First, the C6C3C6 frame is produced, for which the starting point is the aromatic compounds formed earlier. Following this, the individual compounds are produced, during the course of which the formation of the OH and OCH3 groups, and the connection of sugars constitutes the main reactions. In vegetables, the regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis is in harmony with the energy state of the cell. During the course of the ripening of fruits and the development of the plant, the quantitative and qualitative composition of flavonoids changes.
From among the non-flavonoid type poliphenols occurring in plants, trans-rezveratrol (3,5,4’ tri-hydroxil stiblene) has an outstanding importance. The compound has two factors of geometric muscle-power: trans- and cis-rezveratrol. In tans-rezveratrol occurring in nature, the phenyl groups are located in a diagonal manner, therefore they are farther away from each other. The cis-isomer is unstable, as the phenyl groups are located on the same side (steric blocking). In vegetables with rezveratrol contents, this compound is located mostly in the skin and the seed. According to the results established by the tests, rezveratrol has dual biological effects: as a vegetable protective material, it has a significant role in the natural defense mechanism (vegetable immune materials) against pathogenic pathogens (fungus infections), at the same time they emphasise the favourable pharmacological effect that is manifested in the protective effect against cardiac and circulatory diseases.
The positive biological effect is never due to one particular phenol compound. From among the compounds discussed above, one vegetable might contain several (even several hundred) in different qualitative and quantitative variations depending on the type of the fruit, its place of origin and the weather conditions. (This is the reason why the vegetables used are to be selected very carefully and that their quality is to be checked continuously.) These compounds, as well as their metabolits formed in the human body through decomposition, produce the above-mentioned positive effect jointly, by reinforcing each other’s effects.
It is important to remark that the name Flavin does not indicate a concrete compound. Unfortunately, we often come across this mistake of concepts even in professional circles! In present use, the name Flavin indicates a product family.
The reason for the misunderstanding is that vitamin B2 used to be called riboflavin and lactoflavin. However, this – from a chemical aspect – has nothing to do with flavonoids! The expression “flavin derivatives, flavonoids” , etc., is – from a chemical point of view – without meaning and can be misleading.
Kovács Zsuzsanna
Associate Professor
2003.
