Future Perspectives in Plant Biology Flavonoids and Isoflavonoids: From Plant Biology to Agriculture and Neuroscience

Flavonoids represent one of the largest and most studied classes of phenylpropanoid-derived plant specialized metabolites, with an estimated 10,000 different members. Structurally, they consist of two main groups, the 2-phenylchromans (the flavonoids, including flavanones, flavones, flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanidins) and the 3-phenylchromans (the isoflavonoids, including isoflavones, isoflavans, and pterocarpans; Fig. 1A). Flavonoids act as attractants to pollinators and symbionts, as sunscreens to protect against UV irradiation, as allelochemicals, and as antimicrobial and antiherbivory factors. Their importance in plant biology goes beyond their specific functions within the plant. For example, the early advances in floral genetics were primarily the result of the ease of screening for mutations impacting flavonoid-derived flower colors, and the first demonstration of epigenetic gene silencing in plants was likewise associated with flavonoid biosynthesis (Jorgensen, 1995). Flavonoids have been ascribed positive effects on human and animal health and are central to the current interest in “botanicals” for disease therapy and chemoprevention.