Flavonoids are a subgroup of the polyphenols synthesised in plants as secondary metabolites. The main function of flavonoids in plants is to protect the tissues of the plants from environmental damage as well as tissue injury from predators. There are a large number of known flavonoids that have been identified from plants, and many are present in the diets of humans where they are consumed in edible plant material. Sunflowers, like all plants, synthesise flavonoids, and the researchers have identified a number of different flavonoids in parts of the sunflower plant. For example, the receptacles of sunflowers are known to possess the flavonoids isoquercetin and daidzein. Studies show that these flavonoids provide significant antioxidant protection to the receptacle of sunflowers although it is not known if this is their main function. Sunflowers are edible, and therefore should be considered a healthy food on account of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects conferred by flavonoids in their tissues.
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