Chromones are naturally occurring phenolic compounds that are universally present in a healthy human diet. To date, thousands of chromone derivatives, including chromone glycosides have been discovered, both from natural and synthetic origin. Many plant genera, including Aloe, Aquilaria, Cassia, Hypericum and Polygonum, are rich sources of chromones. Several genera of fungi, such as Aspergillus, Mycoleptodiscus, Orbiocrella, and Penicillium produce bioactive chromones. This class of compounds is mainly associated with anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Various in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies have established the role of chromones in alleviating allergies, reducing oxidative damage, inhibiting cancer, infections and inflammation, and for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. This review focuses mainly on natural chromones, and elaborates on their nutritional benefits, pharmacological activities, and mechanisms of action. Various scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar, were used to find relevant literature on chromones covering all available literature up to, and including the year 2019. This critical analysis of completed research regarding the nutraceutical properties of various chromone derivatives may provide new insight to scientists working in related fields.

苯醌是天然存在的酚类化合物，普遍存在于健康的人类饮食中。迄今为止，已经从天然和合成来源发现了数千种色酮衍生物，包括色酮糖苷。许多植物属，包括芦荟，沉香，决明子，金丝桃和何首乌，都是色酮的丰富来源。真菌的几个属，例如曲霉菌，Mycoleptodiscus，Orbiocrella和Penicillium产生生物活性色酮。这类化合物主要与抗氧化剂，抗微生物剂，抗癌剂和抗炎活性有关。各种体外，体内和临床研究已确定色酮在减轻过敏，减少氧化损伤，抑制癌症，感染和炎症以及治疗神经和精神疾病中的作用。这篇综述主要侧重于天然色酮，并阐述了它们的营养益处，药理活性和作用机理。利用包括PubMed，Scopus和Google Scholar在内的各种科学数据库查找色酮的相关文献，涵盖了直到2019年（包括2019年）的所有可用文献。