The dietary sources of these flavonoids are cereals, fruits and vegetables, and their consumption has been associated with a number of beneficial effects on health. As a result, many studies have focused on the analysis of different plants for the identification and quantification of flavonoids with a role in health promotion. One of these plants, quite well studied in certain geographical areas, is the common backwheat, _Fagopyrum esculentum_. This species, together with another 1200 species, is part of the Polygonaceae family--with a wide distribution in Europe, in the temperate zone of North America and in Southeast Asia [2], Russia and China. The wild forefather of common backwheat is _F. esculentum ssp. anestrale_. It seems that the origins of this pseudocreal were in China, about 5000-6000 years ago. It has been suggested that backwheat arrived in Europe between 4000 and 2800 BC, and from there, through immigrants to North America. [3]. Functional foods are products that contain various biologically active compounds, which when consumed in the diet, contribute to maintaining the optimal state of physical, mental and general health of the population. As functional foods are part of the daily diet, their effects are long-lasting. For example, foods containing probiotics and/or prebiotics and/or antioxidants can be considered functional foods. Buckwheat is a functional food because it is a rich source of protein, with adequate ratios of amino acids, fiber, minerals (especially zinc, copper, and magnesium) and vitamins (B1, B2, B3 and B6). It has significant amounts of phenolic compounds--especially flavonoids [2; 3; 4]--with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor actions. Research has shown that buckwheat has a much higher antioxidant capacity than oats, barley [5] wheat [6] and other pseudocereals [5; 7; 8], due to the higher content of polyphenic compounds. The lack of gluten makes it more attractive for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. As buckwheat achenes and buds are rich sources of polyphenic compounds, they began to be used in the manufacture of bread, noodles, pasta and functional drinks [9]. Buckwheat is also grown to support honey production [10] and is considered one of the best plants for obtaining honey. For many years, the therapeutic value of buckwheat honey has been known, which contains,  
Figure 1: Chemical structures of important flavonoid sub-classes. in addition to a mixture of sugars, significant levels of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and other biologically active components [11] specific to the honey plant. For these reasons, in recent years, buckwheat has been considered as a healthier alternative to cereals. Traditionally, in many countries, sprouts are part of their culinary history. From a physiological point of view, sprouting of achenes is defined as the appearance of the root in the seed, and is the process by which seeds grow, giving rise to the new plant. This is the only procedure that achieves a significant increase in the nutritional value of food by increasing the bioavailability of nutrients, and the content of vitamins, bioelements and other biologically active substances [12]. After the 1990s, epidemiological studies have highlighted the positive role of antioxidants in sprouts on oxidative stress, with beneficial implications in most conditions. As a result, the popularity of sprout consumption in Western countries has increased due to the high consumer demand for healthy foods. The beneficial effects of buckwheat and sprouted buckwheat on health--lowering cholesterol [13] regulating hypertension [14] inhibiting tumor growth [15] and controlling diabetes [16] have been highlighted. Currently, buckwheat is used not only to improve the nutritional value of food, but also to produce food with a beneficial impact on human health [17], or to obtain preparations in the pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries [18; 19]. One characteristic of buckwheat is the rather high content of rutin and O-glycosyl flavonoids [20].