Di Gioia Francesco, Petropoulos Spyridon A
Department of Plant Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.
Department of Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
Adv Food Nutr Res. 2019;90:351-421. doi: 10.1016/bs.afnr.2019.02.004. Epub 2019 Mar 1.
Phytoestrogens are non-steroidal secondary metabolites with similarities in structure and biological activities with human estrogens divided into various classes of compounds, including lignans, isoflavones, ellagitannins, coumestans and stilbenes. Similarly, phytosteroids are steroidal compounds of plant origin which have estrogenic effects and can act as agonists, antagonists, or have a mixed agonistic/antagonistic activity to animal steroid receptors. On the other hand, saponins are widely distributed plant glucosides divided into triterpenoid and steroidal saponins that contribute to plant defense mechanism against herbivores. They present a great variation from a structural point of view, including compounds from different classes. In this chapter, the main vegetable sources of these compounds will be presented, while details regarding their biosynthesis and plant functions will be also discussed. Moreover, considering the significant bioactive properties that these compounds exhibit, special focus will be given on their health effects, either beneficial or adverse. The practical applications of these compounds in agriculture and phytomedicine will be also demonstrated, as well as the future prospects for related research.
植物雌激素是一类非甾体类次生代谢产物，其结构和生物活性与人类雌激素相似，可分为多种化合物类别，包括木脂素、异黄酮、鞣花单宁、香豆雌酚和芪类。同样，植物甾醇是植物来源的甾体化合物，具有雌激素效应，对动物甾体受体可表现为激动剂、拮抗剂或具有混合的激动/拮抗活性。另一方面，皂苷是广泛分布的植物糖苷，分为三萜皂苷和甾体皂苷，有助于植物抵御食草动物的防御机制。从结构角度来看，它们具有很大的差异，包括来自不同类别的化合物。在本章中，将介绍这些化合物的主要植物来源，同时也将讨论其生物合成及植物功能的细节。此外，鉴于这些化合物所表现出的显著生物活性特性，将特别关注它们对健康的影响，包括有益和有害的影响。还将展示这些化合物在农业和植物医学中的实际应用，以及相关研究的未来前景。
