Extraction, Identification, and Potential Health Benefits of Spinach Flavonoids: A Review

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is a rich dietary source of health-promoting compounds. It contains phenolic compounds, mainly patuletin, spinacetin and glucuronides derivatives which are responsible for their wide range of biological and functional properties. Different extractions (ultrasonication, pressurized liquid extraction), isolation (column, semi-preparative or Droplet counter-current chromatography) and analytical such as HPLC, UPLC, LC-ESI-MS/MS, NMR techniques have been used for the separation, identification and quantification of flavonoids from spinach. Quantitative analysis reported that the total flavonoid content in spinach is about 1000-1200 mg/kg that may vary depending upon the conditions such as varieties, growing season or cultivation practices. Spinach flavonoids have shown to possess anticancer, antioxidant, alpha-amylase, bile acid binding and anti-inflammatory activities. In this chapter spinach phytochemicals, especially flavonoids, are described and discussed in a critical manner.