Oleuropeic and menthiafolic acid glucose esters from plants: Shared structural relationships and biological activities

Abstract

Glycosylation of small lipophilic molecules is a ubiquitous process in plants that produces many important compounds. Many of these are secondary metabolites with key roles in plant abiotic and biotic stress tolerance through such processes as free radical scavenging and antimicrobial and antiherbivore defense. Most of these plant products occur as O-glycosides, with a much smaller number occurring as glucose esters of aromatic acids, and even fewer occurring as glucose esters of aliphatic acids. For example, there is a large diversity and distribution of monoterpene glycosides in plants, but relatively few monoterpene acid glucose esters have been elucidated to date. There have, however, be..