Flavonoid intake in European adults (18 to 64 years)

Vogiatzoglou, A., Mulligan, A. A., Lentjes, M. A. H., Luben, R. N., Spencer, J. P. E., Schroeter, H., Khaw, K.-T. and Kuhnle, G. G. C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8081-8931 (2015) Flavonoid intake in European adults (18 to 64 years). PLoS ONE. e0128132. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128132

Abstract/Summary

Background Flavonoids are a group of phenolic secondary plant metabolites that are ubiquitous in plant-based diets. Data from anthropological, observational and intervention studies have shown that many flavonoids are bioactive. For this reason, there is an increasing interest in investigating the potential health effects of these compounds. The translation of these findings into the context of the health of the general public requires detailed information on habitual dietary intake. However, only limited data are currently available for European populations. Objective The objective of this study is to determine the habitual intake and main sources of anthocyanidins, flavanols, flavanones, flavones, flavonols, proanthocyanidins, theaflavins and thearubigins in the European Union. Design We use food consumption data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the FLAVIOLA Food Composition Database to estimate intake of flavonoids. Results Mean (±SEM) intake of total flavonoids in Europe was 428±49 mg/d, of which 136±14 mg/d were monomeric compounds. Gallated flavan-3-ols (53±12 mg/d) were the main contributor. The lowest flavonoid intake was observed in Mediterranean countries (monomeric compounds: 95±11 mg/d). The distribution of intake was skewed in many countries, especially in Germany (monomeric flavonoids; mean intake: 181 mg/d; median intake: 3 mg/d). Conclusions The habitual intake of flavonoids in Europe is below the amounts found to have a significant health effect.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/40348
Identification Number/DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0128132
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Human Nutrition Research Group
Publisher	PLOS
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item