Extracts and Flavonoids of Passiflora Species as Promising Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Substances

There is increasing interest in evaluating anti-inflammatory activities of plant substances such as extracts and flavonoid rich fractions. A promising source of new medicinal drugs may be species from the Passifloraceae family. The most interesting group of principal chemical substances in Passiflora species are polyphenolic compounds, including flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, apigenin, luteolin, chrysin, and C-glycosylflavones i.e., vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin), due to their antioxidant activity demonstrated in various studies. However, each extract from Passiflora spp. as multi-component mixtures should be estimated for chemical composition (in the standardization process) and its activity using in vitro and in vivo tests. The current standard for drug discovery and development from plants indicates that only collective assessment allows estimating plant substances by definition of the origin of raw materials and their quality, methods of extractions, and metabolite profiles. Increasingly, due to complex phytochemical procedures to obtain extracts, individual flavonoid compounds are also tested for anti-inflammatory action. However, it should be emphasized that various sources of potential new drugs from plant origin are not mutually exclusive, but are complementary. A review of bibliographic data includes the following information about Passiflora species, such as distribution, classification, phytochemical compounds, the anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts, the anti-inflammatory activity of flavonoids, and antioxidant potential. The review concluded that extracts and flavonoids (mainly quercetin, apigenin, and vitexin) from Passiflora spp. can be a valuable source of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative medications for the prevention and treatment of many diseases, which occur with complex inflammatory processes.