Chromenes and Nutraceuticals

Abstract

Nutraceuticals have received tremendous interest in the treatment or prevention of multiple diseases in modern times. Chromenes (Benzopyran), phytochemicals that are polyphenolic secondary metabolites, are one of the privileged scaffolds that occur in various natural products as essential structural components and also have beneficial nutraceutical properties. Chromenes are more correctly referred to as ‘nutraceuticals' due to their variety of pharmacological activities in the mammalian body. A better understanding of their mechanisms and biological activities suggests their ability as therapeutic agents and also for predicting and monitoring food quality due to their significance in food organoleptic properties and human health. In this chapter, the discussion will be on the diverse therapeutic actions of chromenes as well as the probable mechanisms of action that are responsible for their therapeutic activity. The origins of these chromenes, their extraction from these sources, and their use as nutraceutical components in various food items will also be discussed. The pharmacological relevance of chromenes, which may be added to staple foods to create various nutraceutical products, will also be discussed. As shall be evident after reading this chapter, chromenes as pharmacological agents have a wide range of targets. As a result, medicinal chemistry and quantitative structure-activity relationships should be used to focus on their specific biological action when developing new congeners of chromenes to be used as drugs.