Hesperidin: a flavanone with multifaceted applications in the food, animal feed, and environmental fields

Hesperidin, a glycosylated flavanone abundant in nature, is an antioxidant widely researched in the pharmaceutical industry for its anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, anti-aging, cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects. Despite the extensive literature highlighting these therapeutic activities, there remains a significant gap in understanding hesperidin role across other fields. This review aims at demonstrating hesperidin applications beyond pharmaceutical applications, particularly in the food, feed, and environmental fields. For this purpose, a brief description of the biosynthesis pathway of hesperidin in citrus plants is provided as well as its main chemical derivatives. In the food industry, hesperidin and its derivatives are commercialized as dietetic supplements and have been studied as food additives and active ingredients in edible food packaging. Within the feed industry, meat and/or eggs from animals supplemented with hesperidin show higher oxidative stability and prolonged shelf life. Moreover, in the environment research, hesperidin induces plant tolerance against abiotic factors and shows biopesticide activity.