Plant Science 155 (2000) 109
Book review
www.elsevier.com/locate/plantsci
The Handbook of Natural Fla7onoids(two volumes
set), Edited by J.B. Harborne and H. Baxter, John Wiley, Chichester, 1999. ISBN 0-471-95893-X; Hardcover £595.00
This handbook which consists of two rather voluminous volumes presents a comprehensive collection of data on the various flavonoids re-ported from plants. Flavonoids make up a very large group of polyphenolic compounds and fulfil diverse functions in the biochemistry, physiology and ecology of the producing plants, e.g. by pig-mentation of flower petals, attraction of insects and birds for pollination or fruit and seed disper-sal, or by an as yet enigmatic role in fertility and germination of pollen. Flavonoids are also consid-ered to protect the tissues from UV irradiation and to contribute to the defence as antimicrobial and insecticidal agents. Some flavonoids have been assigned the potential to act as plant growth regu-lators, enzyme inhibitors, or even as anticancer agents in the human diet. The introductory chap-ter of both volumes includes a brief summary of these biological functions along with a short overview of the main features of the biogenetic pathways, which is followed by the presentation and discussion of the different modes of flavonoid classification and nomenclature, e.g. according to the biosynthetic origin, the molecular size or to the chemical structure. The general introduction ends with an informative summation of the most rele-vant review articles and book chapters, which is followed by the listing of individual formulas grouped in various flavonoid classes. Volume one
deals with flavones and their O-glycosides,
flavonols and their O-glycosides,
C-glyco-sylflavones and biflavonoids, while volume two is dedicated to the anthocyanins, chalcones, aurones, flavanones, dihydroflavanols, flavans and their
derivatives as well as isoflavonoids and their derivatives.
For the major part the book contains the sche-matic formulas and classification of the flavonoid compounds. Each compound is listed with its molecular weight followed by a list of source plants as well as the tissues or organs in which the flavonoids are primarily accumulated. References are indicated for further reading, and the particu-lar value of this book must be seen in the extensive collection of literature covering all aspects of the
flavonoids. Biological activities including the
medicinal effects are mentioned occasionally only, probably following the intention to distinguish the experimentally verified effects from preliminary observations. One would have expected, neverthe-less, to find more of the current literature on the physiological role of flavonoids, i.e. in tapetum cells. The handbook finishes with a carefully com-posed subject and an unusual species index which make this compendium very suitable as a general reference and source book for the committed re-search. This includes the numerous trivial names which have been coined for flavonoids in the literature and the extensive listing of all the flavonoids reported for each plant species. Overall, the book is a lexical and convenient reference book which should be available in any laboratory concerned with flavonoid research in the broadest sense.
Ulrich Matern
Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology,
Philipps-Uni6ersity, Deutschhausstrasse 17 A,
D-35037 Marburg,
Germany
E-mail: matern@mailer.uni-marburg.de
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