Phenolic Compounds and their Biological and Pharmaceutical Activities

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<div&gt;Phenolic compounds play an essential role in plants and foods. These&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;compounds are well known for their biological and pharmaceutical activities. These&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;compounds act as colorants and antioxidants. Research on phenolic compounds is&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;mainly focused on their antioxidant properties. These compounds showed significant&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;effects on chronic degenerative diseases, such as central neurodegenerative disorders,</div&gt;<div&gt;cataracts, macular degeneration (age-related), diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;complication, and cancer. These compounds also showed implications on human health&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;since increased exposure to free radicals might lead to an increased risk of degenerative&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;diseases. Fruits and vegetables are rich in phenolic compounds. The phenolic&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;compound consists of one (phenolic acids) or more polyphenols aromatic structures&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;attached to a hydroxyl group. The phenolic compound is found in combination with&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;mono or polysaccharides, and they can occur in the group as an ester or methyl ester.</div&gt;<div&gt;Their biological and pharmaceutical activities are based on their phenolic ring and a&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;hydroxyl group. Apart from antioxidant activity, they have many other therapeutic&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;effects on human health. Among the several classes of phenolic compounds, flavonoids,</div&gt;<div&gt;tannins, and phenolic acids are considered as main dietary phenolic compounds. In this&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;chapter, we have summarized the biological and pharmaceutical activities related to&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;different classes of phenolic compounds.</div&gt;