Citrus Bioflavanoids

Citrus is known for its powerful antioxidant potential, but there's more to this fruit than its vitamin C content. Certain compounds in citrus, known as citrus bioflavonoids, have been shown to provide a slew of health benefits. And, while research on citrus bioflavonoids is ongoing, these powerful antioxidants show plenty of promise.

Citrus bioflavonoids are a unique set of phytochemicals—meaning, they're compounds produced by plants. While vitamin C is a micronutrient found in citrus fruits, citrus bioflavonoids are phytonutrients also found in citrus fruits, says functional medicine nutritionist Brooke Scheller, DCN. "This is a class of antioxidant compounds that include some familiar ones, like quercetin," she explains.

Citrus bioflavonoids are a unique set of phytochemicals—meaning, they're compounds produced by plants. Citrus bioflavonoids are part of a larger family of flavonoids. There are a dazzling number of different flavonoids, with various benefits to human health. What they all have in common is that they are potent antioxidants found in plants, which help protect the organism from damage from the sun and infection. Within these categories are sub-categories, amounting to literally thousands of naturally occurring bioactive flavonoids. A few of the most common bioflavonoids and their glucosides (molecules with a bonded sugar) found in citrus include quercetin (a flavonol), rutin (a glucoside of quercetin), the flavones tangeritin and diosmin, and the flavanone glucosides hesperidin and naringin.