Functions of flavonoids in three Korean native varieties of Artemisia species

Abstract

The development of drugs from natural plant sources is at growing interest due to the limitations of chemical drugs in terms of side effects and cost-effective factors of natural medicines. Among the various components contained in natural plant materials, flavonoids are of increasing interest because of their extended biological benefits. Flavonoids are classified into various types according to their structure and possess different activities depending on the structure. In this study, the flavonoids contained in Artemisia, native to Korea were examined and reviewed. HPLC chromatograms of three Artemisia species (Artemisia annua L., Artemisia iwayomogi and Artemisia argyi H.) were examined from published sources and their component analysis by MS data were summarized. The various flavonoids of Artemisia were classified into 12 types according to the main structure, and 10 flavonoids based on various activities were examined. The 10 flavonoids were identified as quercetin, kaempferol, rhamnetin, diosmetin, luteolin, methoxyflavone, catechin, apigenin, malvidin and genkwanin with extensive reported studies till date. The ten flavonoids examined have been reported to be effective in preventing and treating various diseases and exhibit activities such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti- viral, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer. The collective results from the reported studies suggest that the three types of Korean native Artemisia, contains various flavonoids with beneficial activities and may have therapeutic effects against diseases.