MOLECULE

Orientin

Orientin, also known as lutexin, is an 8-C-glycosilated derivative of the flavonoid luteolin, substituted by beta-D-glucopyranosyl. Flavonoids are phenyl substituted chromones (benzopyran derivatives) consisting of a 15-carbon basic skeleton (C6-C3-C6), composed of a chroman (C6-C3) nucleus (the benzo ring A and the heterocyclic ring C; also shared by the tocopherols), with a phenyl (the aromatic ring B) substitution usually at the 2-position. Different substitutions can typically occur in the rings, A and B. 8-C-glycosilated flavonoids are compounds containing a carbohydrate moiety which is C-glycosidically linked to position 8 of a 2-phenylchromen-4-one flavonoid backbone. Orientin is a neutral compound. Orientin is a water-soluble flavonoid C-glycoside found in calcium tree, black bamboo, spelts, triticales, red rices, hard wheats, flaxseeds, wild apricot and cucumber; in barley, flax and tamarind leaves; in basil, blueberry, oregano plants; passion flower, the Açaí palm, buckwheat sprouts, and in millets. It is one of several dozen flavonoid glycosides that have been identified in low-THC Cannabis cultivars (PMID: 6991645). Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are universally present as constituents of flowering plants, particularly of food plants. Several plants and spices containing flavonoid derivatives have found application as disease preventive and therapeutic agents in traditional medicine in Asia for thousands of years. The selection of a food plant, plant tissue or herb for its potential health benefits appears to mirror its flavonoid composition. The much lower risk of colon, prostate and breast cancers in Asians, who consume more vegetables, fruits and tea than populations in the Western hemisphere do, raises the question of whether flavonoid components mediate the protective effects of diets rich in these foodstuffs by acting as natural chemopreventive and anticancer agents. Orientin, extracted from different medicinal plants, exhibits antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammation, vasodilatation and cardioprotective, radiation protective, neuroprotective, antidepressant-like, anti-adipogenesis, and anti-nociceptive effects that have been reviewed (PMID: 27298620).