Taxifolin

Taxifolin is a subclass of flavanonols, an isoflavanone in flavonoids family. The basic structure of two phenyl groups (ring A and ring B) which are joined together by a heterocyclic ring referred to as ring C . The structure contains 3-hydroxyl group at the C ring which is connected to the B ring at carbon-2. Taxifolin is a pentahydroxyflavone containing five hydroxyl groups at the 3-, 3'-, 4'-, 5- and 7-positions. It  has two stereocenters on the C-ring and 4 stereoisomers. It with the configuration of (2R, 3R) is one of them and it comprises 2 pairs of enantiomers.

Taxifolin, a chemical substance extracted from pine plants such as larch and Douglas fir. It belongs to the bioflavonoid pseudo-vitamin P, and its scientific name is dihydroquercetin. Japanese scholar Fukui first isolated it from the leaves of conifers (Chamaecyparis obtusa), and its biological activity was subsequently discovered and confirmed.

Yellow Solid

An antioxidant flavenoid.

(+)-Taxifolin is a flavanon compound which modulates chemopreventive genes.

Reference Standard in the analysis of herbal medicinal products

Taxifolin is a flavonoid commonly found in onion, milk, French maritime pine bark and Douglas fir bark. It is also used in various commercial preparations like Legalon, Pycnogenol, and Venoruton. This review focuses on taxifolin’s biological activities and related molecular mechanisms. It showed promising pharmacological activities in the management of inflammation, tumors, microbial infections, oxidative stress, cardiovascular, and liver disorders. The anti-cancer activity was more prominent than other activities evaluated using different in vitro and in vivo models. Further research on the pharmacokinetics, in-depth molecular mechanisms, and safety profile using well-designed randomized clinical studies are suggested to develop a drug for human use.

ChEBI: A taxifolin that has (2R,3R)-configuration.

De novo biosynthesis of taxifolin is achieved in peroxisomes by optimizing Malonyl-CoA supply and reinforcing rate-limiting steps, yielding titers up to 120.3 mg/L in shake-flask fermentation, while specific strains such as WQ57 produce (2S)-taxifolin[2][3].

Taxifolin is a plant flavonoid, which may find applications in the treatment of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, cerebral thrombosis, cerebral infarction and sequelae.

Chemical synthesis routes produce trans-(±)-taxifolin via hydroxy deprotection and cyclization using aqueous HBr solution, followed by chiral separation, or through methods that avoid explosive peroxides to accommodate oxidant-sensitive groups[1].

[1]Peng, B., Yang, P., Khan, M., Lin, X., Wu, J., Fu, P., & Wu, Q. (2026). A facile and practical method for the synthesis of <i>trans</i> -(±)-taxifolin and its derivatives via Darzens reaction. Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, 22, 443–450. https://doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.22.31
[2]Wu, Q., Chen, R., & Zhang, L. (2025). De novo biosynthesis of taxifolin in yeast peroxisomes. Microbial Cell Factories, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-025-02773-2
[3]Zhang, C., Liu, M., Wang, X., Cheng, J., Xiang, J., Yue, M., Ning, Y., Shao, Z., Abdullah, C. N., & Zhou, J. (2025). <i>De Novo</i> Synthesis of Reticuline and Taxifolin Using Re-engineered Homologous Recombination in <i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i>. ACS Synthetic Biology, 14(2), 585–597. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.4c00853