Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research, Volume 7

Book excerpt: RECENT ADVANCES IN POLYPHENOL RESEARCH Plant polyphenols are secondary metabolites that constitute one of the most common and widespread groups of natural products. They are essential plant components for adaptation to the environment and possess a large and diverse range of biological functions that provide many benefits to both plants and humans. Polyphenols, from their structurally simplest forms to their oligo/polymeric versions (i.e. tannin and lignin), are phytoestrogens, plant pigments, antioxidants, and structural components of the plant cell wall. The interaction between tannins and proteins is involved in plant defense against predation, cause astringency in foods and beverages, and affect the nutritional and health properties of human and animal food plants. This seventh volume of the highly regarded Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research series is edited by Jess Dreher Reed, Victor Armando Pereira de Freitas, and Stéphane Quideau, and brings together chapters written by some of the leading experts working in the polyphenol sciences today. Topics covered include: Chemistry and physicochemistry Biosynthesis, genetics and metabolic engineering Roles in plants and ecosystems Food, nutrition and health Applied polyphenols Distilling the most recent and illuminating data available, this new volume is an invaluable resource for chemists, biochemists, plant scientists, pharmacognosists and pharmacologists, biologists, ecologists, food scientists and nutritionists.