Białecka-Florjańczyk Ewa, Fabiszewska Agata, Zieniuk Bartłomiej
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2018;19(14):1098-1113. doi: 10.2174/1389201020666181217142051.
Phenolic acids are secondary plant metabolites belonging to polyphenol classes, widely spread throughout the plant kingdom. The name "phenolic acids", in general, describes phenols that possess one carboxylic acid functionality and they could be divided into three major subclasses: hydroxybenzoic, hydroxycinnamic and hydroxyphenylacetic acids. The great interest in phenolic acids is associated with their high potential for food preservation (antioxidant and antimicrobial activity) and, last but not least, high therapeutic potential. The aim of this review is to summarise the current knowledge concerning phenolic acids and the topics discussed include natural sources of phenolic acids, biosynthesis and metabolism, health benefits of phenolic acids (first of all the antioxidant activity of dietary phenolics and also anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effect), their antimicrobial activity for selected groups of bacteria and fungi (yeasts) and structural modifications of the molecule especially those increasing lipophilicity and improving solubility in lipids. Recent advances in the methods of enzymatic synthesis of phenolic acid derivatives are described and some conclusions referring to Structure-Property-Activity Relationships of phenolic acids, particularly important from the point of view of their pharmaceutical and nutritional applications, are discussed.
酚酸是属于多酚类的次生植物代谢产物，广泛分布于植物界。一般来说，“酚酸”这个名称描述的是具有一个羧酸官能团的酚类，它们可分为三个主要亚类：羟基苯甲酸、羟基肉桂酸和羟基苯乙酸。人们对酚酸的浓厚兴趣与其在食品保鲜方面的巨大潜力（抗氧化和抗菌活性）以及（最后但同样重要的）高治疗潜力有关。本综述的目的是总结有关酚酸的现有知识，讨论的主题包括酚酸的天然来源、生物合成和代谢、酚酸对健康的益处（首先是膳食酚类的抗氧化活性以及抗癌和抗炎作用）、它们对选定细菌和真菌（酵母）群体的抗菌活性以及分子的结构修饰，特别是那些增加亲脂性和改善脂质溶解度的修饰。描述了酚酸衍生物酶促合成方法的最新进展，并讨论了一些关于酚酸结构-性质-活性关系的结论，从其药物和营养应用的角度来看，这些结论尤为重要。
