Xanthohumol (XN) and cardamonin (CD) belong to the chemical class of chalcones which are phenolic compounds of large interest due to their health promoting properties. In the present work, their electrochemical behavior on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) is compared to trans-chalcone by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical reductions of XN and CD are overall irreversible processes with a mixed adsorptive and diffusive response. All the substituents that XN and CD possess seem to stabilize the ethylenic linkage between the aryl groups making the compound's reduction more difficult to occur. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.