5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone
|5,7,4'-tri-hy-dro-xy-fla-vone|
🇺🇸
/faɪv ˌsɛvən fɔr ˈpraɪm ˌtraɪhaɪˈdrɑksiˈfleɪvoʊn/
🇬🇧
/faɪv ˌsɛvən fɔː ˈpraɪm ˌtraɪhaɪˈdrɒksiˈflævɒn/
a flavone with three hydroxyl groups (apigenin)
Etymology
'5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone' is a systematic chemical name formed from the prefix 'tri-' (from Greek 'treis', meaning 'three'), 'hydroxy' (from Greek 'hydro-' 'water' + 'oxys' 'sharp/acid', used in chemistry to denote an –OH group), and 'flavone' (from Latin 'flavus' meaning 'yellow', used for a class of plant pigments).
'flavone' entered scientific vocabulary from Latin 'flavus' via Medieval/Modern Latin and French (e.g. 'flavone'), and chemical naming conventions (prefixes and locants) developed in the 19th–20th centuries to yield systematic names like '5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone'; the trivial name 'apigenin' was derived from plant sources (from 'Apium', the genus for celery/parsley).
Initially 'flavone' referred to yellow plant pigments ('flavus' = 'yellow'); over time it became the name of a defined chemical class of compounds, so '5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone' now denotes a specific molecular structure (apigenin) rather than just a yellow pigment.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a flavone (a type of flavonoid) bearing three hydroxyl (–OH) groups at positions 5, 7 and 4' of the flavone skeleton; the compound is commonly known as apigenin and is found in many plants (e.g., parsley, chamomile) with reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
The compound 5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone (apigenin) is abundant in parsley and chamomile and has been studied for its antioxidant effects.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/07 10:39