The Difference Between Bioflavonoids and Flavonoids

Raena Morgan: Hello, I’m visiting with Frank Murray. He is a medical writer. He wrote “Health Benefits Derived from Sweet Orange”, among many books—that’s 49 books that you’ve written Frank? Frank Murray: Forty nine and 50 in the works now. Raena Morgan: All right—prolific! We’re talking about the health benefits of Sweet Orange and bioflavonoids. What’s the difference between bioflavonoids and flavonoids? Frank Murray: Well, they’re both in fruits and vegetables and berries and that sort of thing. So, they’re different constituents; they have different molecular structure. They’re both water soluble, but they’re actually different constituents. Raena Morgan: So, they’re one in the same thing? Frank Murray: Not really, they have different bonds, chemical bonds. Raena Morgan: Okay. Frank Murray: But, they’re associated in the same fruits and vegetables; we call them cousins. Raena Morgan: Cousins, okay. Frank Murray: Vitamin C cousins. They’re different but yet have similar properties, such as dilating the blood vessels. Raena Morgan: And, how does that affect connective tissue known as collagen and vein function? Frank Murray: Well, they strengthen the collagen which is connective tissue, as you know—we couldn’t move about without it—the collagen in our system. And so, vitamin C is very important, along with bioflavonoids, actually allowing more blood to come through. They expand the blood vessels and strengthen them also. Raena Morgan: So, it’s an elastic kind of tissue, right? Frank Murray: That’s correct. The deal is, as you know, the arteries send blood from the heart throughout the body. The veins and the capillaries return blood to the body. Whereas the arteries are very strong, the capillaries and the veins are rather weak, actually, and they’re easily broken, particularly the capillaries. And, you know, we bruise ourselves and we see a yellow spot on our skin, and we’ve bruised that and blood, obviously, has seeped into the skin. So, the bioflavonoids and vitamin C are very useful in dilating the blood vessels and strengthening them, actually. Raena Morgan: And, keeping them elastic? Frank Murray: Oh absolutely, yes. Raena Morgan: And, flexible? Frank Murray: That’s true, yes.