Flavonoids determine the rate of fibrillogenesis and structure of collagen type I fibrils in vitro.

Collagen fibrils are produced from collagen monomers not only in vivo, but also in vitro. The ability to have an influence on the structure and properties of fibrils may find medical application and can be useful for controlling the formation of collagen gels and sheets in tissue engineering. Here we investigated the influence of flavonoids, distinguished by the number of hydroxyl groups in the B-ring, on the formation of collagen fibrils.

Integration of Quercetin-Iron Complexes into Phosphatidylcholine or Phosphatidylethanolamine Liposomes.

It is well known that flavonoids can chelate transition metals. Flavonoid-metal complexes exhibit a high antioxidative and therapeutic potential. However, the complexes are frequently hydrophobic ones and low soluble in water, which restricts their medical applications.

Flavonoid-membrane interactions: involvement of flavonoid-metal complexes in raft signaling.

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds produced by plants and delivered to the human body through food. Although the epidemiological analyses of large human populations did not reveal a simple correlation between flavonoid consumption and health, laboratory investigations and clinical trials clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of flavonoids in the prevention of cardiovascular, carcinogenic, neurodegenerative and immune diseases, as well as other diseases. At present, the abilities of flavonoids in the regulation of cell metabolism, gene expression, and protection against oxidative stress are well-known, although certain biophysical aspects of their functioning are not yet clear.

Lipophilicity of flavonoid complexes with iron(II) and their interaction with liposomes.

We studied complex formation of flavonoids quercetin and taxifolin with iron(II) and the complex influence on phase transitions of phospholipid bilayer. UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed that the stoichiometry of flavonoid/iron complexes was equal to 3:2 and 2:1. Molecular modeling and experimental measurements demonstrated the increase of flavonoids lipophilicity after the complex formation.

Calcium-dependent aggregation and fusion of phosphatidylcholine liposomes induced by complexes of flavonoids with divalent iron.

It was found that complexes of the flavonoids quercetin, taxifolin, catechin and morin with divalent iron initiated an increase in light scattering in a suspension of unilamellar 100nm liposomes. The concentration of divalent iron in the suspension was 10μM. Liposomes were prepared from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylglycero-3-phoshpatidylcholine.