FT-IR and FT-Raman fingerprints of flavonoids – A review

Flavonoids are secondary metabolites commonly found in plants. They are known for their antioxidant properties, are part of the defense mechanisms of plants and are responsible for the pigmentation of fruit and flowers petals. Consumption foods rich in flavonoids in the daily diet brings a number of pro-health benefits - for example blood pressure regulation, delaying the aging process or anti-cancer effect. These compounds in synthetic or natural form are also used in pharmacy. The profile of flavonoid compounds can be quickly, accurately and easy determine in the test sample by using the infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Those methods are successfully used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Spectroscopy methods allow us to determine the chemical structure of these compounds. This review describes and compares differences between the spectroscopic spectra of individual compounds with the chemical structure for the flavonoids subgroups: flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, flavonols and anthocyanins.