The short answer: flavonoids are a class of natural plant compounds, found throughout fruits, vegetables, and flowers, that give plants much of their color and contribute to flavor and aroma. Cannabis contains around twenty of them, including a few, called cannflavins, that are found nowhere else. They are a third family of cannabis compounds, alongside terpenes and cannabinoids.

What flavonoids do in a plant

Flavonoids are polyphenols, best known for producing pigment, the reds, purples, and blues in berries and flowers, and for their antioxidant role. In cannabis, they contribute to a strain's color and play a supporting part in flavor and aroma, alongside the terpenes that do most of the aromatic heavy lifting.

Common flavonoids and the cannabis-only ones

Many cannabis flavonoids are the same ones in your diet: quercetin, kaempferol, apigenin, and luteolin, found in fruits, vegetables, and teas. A handful, the cannflavins (A, B, and C), are unique to cannabis. They were first identified in the mid-1980s by Barrett and colleagues.

What the research says

Cannflavins have drawn attention mainly for anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory studies. Early research described cannflavins A and B as strong inhibitors of certain inflammatory molecules, and some reports compared their potency favorably to aspirin in the lab. As always, this is preclinical research on the compounds, not a claim about any product, and much remains to be studied.

How this relates to MONDAYS

Flavonoids are a fascinating part of the plant, but they are more about color and are studied more for research interest than for the flavor MONDAYS captures. Our chews focus on terpenes, which carry the aroma and taste of a strain. Flavonoids are the third family worth knowing alongside terpenes and cannabinoids.

Frequently asked questions

What are cannflavins?

Cannflavins are flavonoids found only in cannabis. Three are known, A, B, and C, and they are studied mainly for anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory research.

Are flavonoids the same as terpenes?

No. Flavonoids are pigment and antioxidant compounds; terpenes are aroma and flavor compounds. Both are separate from cannabinoids like THC.

Do flavonoids get you high?

No. Flavonoids are not intoxicating. Only THC produces a high.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.