NEW RESEARCH RESULTS: Food sources and intake of polyphenols in Finland

Tuesday, 01 April 2008 09:26

Concentrations of the main dietary polyphenols, i.e. phenolic acids, anthocyanidins and other flavonoids, proanthocyanidins and ellagitannins (altogether 44 polyphenol compounds), were analyzed from pooled Finnish food samples in the laboratories of MTT Agrifood Research Finland and University of Kuopio, and entered into the national food composition database, Fineli. Among the 143 food items analyzed, berries were superior in terms of their total polyphenol concentrations, but coffee and cereal products are the main contributors to intake, due to their high consumption. In this study, the daily intake of polyphenols was 863 mg.

In National Public Health Institute (KTL), the intakes of the polyphenols and the corresponding food sources were calculated on the basis of 48 h dietary recalls of 2007 Finnish adults (FINDIET 2002). The mean total intake of polyphenols was 863 ± 415 mg/d. Phenolic acids were the dominant group of polyphenols (75 % of total intake), followed by proanthocyanidins (14 %), anthocyanidins (6 %) and other flavonoids (5 %). Coffee was the primary food item contributing to phenolic acid intake and also to the total intake of polyphenols. Other main contributors were cereals (especially rye bread), tea and fruits. Berries and berry products were the main source for anthocyanidins, proanthocyanidins and ellagitannins, and fruits for flavonols, flavones, and flavanones. This study is the first one providing intake estimation for such a wide range of dietary polyphenols.

Ovaskainen, M.-L., Törrönen, R., Koponen, J.M., Sinkko, H., Hellström, J., Reinivuo, H., Mattila, P. Dietary intake and major food sources of polyphenols in Finnish adults. J Nutr 138: 562-566, 2008

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