Chemical Properties
Clover is a tufted or diffuse herb with trifoliate leaves and toothed leaflets. Flowers consist of dense heads or spikes.
More than 80 varieties of this herb are recognized. Varieties grown in Europe include T. pratense L. (reddish-pink flowers), T. repens
L. and T. incarnatum L. T. pratense L. is also grown in central and northern Asia. The flowers have an intense and unpleasant odor.
Essential oil composition
The main constituents of clover are coumarin, genistein, pectolinarin and bichanin A. The herb red clover
(Trifolium pratense) contains isoflavones, genistein and daidzein. Analysis of the flavonoids and their glycoside malonates of the
flowers extract of red clover (T. pratense) resulted in approximately 20 flavonoid glycoside malonates in the flower extract. Eight were
identified as genistin 6?-O-malonate, formononetin 7-O-beta-D-glucoside 6?-O-malonate, biochanin A 7-O-beta-D-glucoside 6?-Omalonate,
trifoside 6?-O-malonate, irilone 4?-O-beta-D-glucoside 6?-O-malonate, pratensein 7-O-beta-D-glucoside 6?-O-malonate,
isoquercitrin 6?-O-malonate, and 3-methylquercetin 7-O-beta-D-glucoside 6?-O-malonate. About 15 other flavonoids and clovamides
were proved to be present in this extract.*
