Persicarin is a sulfated

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

naturally found in the cells of several plant species, including the water dropwort (''

Oenanthe javanica ''Oenanthe javanica'', commonly Java waterdropwort, water celery, water dropwort, Chinese celery, Indian pennywort and Japanese (flat leaf) parsley, is a plant of the genus '' Oenanthe'' originating from East Asia. It has a widespread native dist ...

''). It was first isolated from water pepper in 1937 by Jeffrey Harborne. The name of persicarin is derived from the Latin name of the plant: ''Persicaria hydropiper''. It is also found in

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

and because it is then excreted into

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra. Cel ...

, that makes persicarin a potential

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

for the consumption of this food. Persicarin has been reported to show some promising results in protecting against and treating

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

-induced liver inflammation and damage in mice models. Persicarin is poorly soluble but is potentially a very strongly acidic substance based on its estimated pKa value. The functional role played by persicarin in plant cells and tissues, and in fact the role of other sulfated flavonoids in general, is currently not clear. It has been theorised that sulfated flavonoids play a role in molecular recognition, stimulate

plant hormone Plant hormone (or phytohormones) are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, from embryogenesis, the regulation of organ size, pa ...

transport,

detoxification Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...

and

signalling In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

pathways. Sulfated flavonoids seem to also have an important role in co-pigmentation by forming stable complexes with anthocyanin pigments, but the specific function of persicarin remains unknown.{{Cite journal, last1=Teles, first1=Yanna C. F., last2=Souza, first2=Maria Sallett R., last3=de Souza, first3=Maria de Fátima Vanderlei, date=2018-02-23, title=Sulphated Flavonoids: Biosynthesis, Structures, and Biological Activities, journal= Molecules, volume=23, issue=2, pages=480, doi=10.3390/molecules23020480, issn=1420-3049, pmc=6017314, pmid=29473839

References

Flavonoids Sulfate esters