3.2 Polyphenols as Food Supplements
49
3.2 Polyphenols as Food Supplements
To crown the whole, natural phenolic compounds (NPC) with their potential antioxidant effects exhibit the best alternative to synthetic antioxidants. NPC from foods,
when extracted carefully, may be the active ingredients of food supplements without chemical additives, thus meeting consumers’ preference trend of more and
more formulation-based. Industrials and food technologists have developed phytoantioxidants to improve nutritional or technological aspects of foods, including
increased shelf life, in comparison with synthetic antioxidants.
NPC may have a myriad of health benefits even if just a small amount will be
expected to be absorbed in the body (less than 10% of the total amount). The rest will
reach the colon where such compounds will be metabolized by gut bacteria, providing, in turn, a series of bioactive metabolites as well as direct health benefits through
microbe–host interactions. Mounting evidence points to the paramount importance
of gut bacteria in human’s health. Gut microbiota is now viewed as groups of symbionts that interfere with many functions in our body, including our mood. We now
know that gut microbiota can be modulated, at least to some extent, by food habits.
Many of the previously called ‘antinutrients’ have been found to be important in
selecting and feeding some of these desirable population groups. Such compounds
tend to now to be named ‘phytonutrients’. Dietary fibres and polyphenols fall into
this category. In a recent study aiming to inspect possible relationships between
normal intakes of dietary flavonoids and the risk of depression (considering total
flavonoids and other sub-classes), it was found that women consuming foods high in
flavonoids, (mainly flavones and proanthocyanidins) had a lower risk of depression
(Chang et al. 2016). Until now, no study has confirmed that polyphenols may be used
as antidepressive drugs, but the hint is implicit.
Consumption of flavonoids has also been noted to slow down the decline of the
cognitive function during ageing (Letenneur et al. 2007). Based on this research,
elder people (>65 years), with a high dietary intake of flavonoids had a better cognitive performance, than those with a diet poorer in flavonoids. Anyway, polyphenols
represent a group of phytonutrients that have in common.
3.3 Interaction of Polyphenols with Nutrients During Food
Processing
Food is a fuel and also a source of pleasure. Foods are mostly consumed cooked and
mixed together in foodstuffs and dishes. In the Med Diet, many cooking methods
make use of olive oil (rich in unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols) as a solvent.
These techniques start by heating virgin olive oil (around 90–120 °C), often adding
garlic, onion and other vegetables, favouring the release of fat-soluble nutrients and
increasing their bioavailability. According to Ramírez-Anaya et al (2015) and Rinaldi
de Alvarenga et al (2019), vegetables cooked in EVOO retain more nutrients and
49
3.2 Polyphenols as Food Supplements
To crown the whole, natural phenolic compounds (NPC) with their potential antioxidant effects exhibit the best alternative to synthetic antioxidants. NPC from foods,
when extracted carefully, may be the active ingredients of food supplements without chemical additives, thus meeting consumers’ preference trend of more and
more formulation-based. Industrials and food technologists have developed phytoantioxidants to improve nutritional or technological aspects of foods, including
increased shelf life, in comparison with synthetic antioxidants.
NPC may have a myriad of health benefits even if just a small amount will be
expected to be absorbed in the body (less than 10% of the total amount). The rest will
reach the colon where such compounds will be metabolized by gut bacteria, providing, in turn, a series of bioactive metabolites as well as direct health benefits through
microbe–host interactions. Mounting evidence points to the paramount importance
of gut bacteria in human’s health. Gut microbiota is now viewed as groups of symbionts that interfere with many functions in our body, including our mood. We now
know that gut microbiota can be modulated, at least to some extent, by food habits.
Many of the previously called ‘antinutrients’ have been found to be important in
selecting and feeding some of these desirable population groups. Such compounds
tend to now to be named ‘phytonutrients’. Dietary fibres and polyphenols fall into
this category. In a recent study aiming to inspect possible relationships between
normal intakes of dietary flavonoids and the risk of depression (considering total
flavonoids and other sub-classes), it was found that women consuming foods high in
flavonoids, (mainly flavones and proanthocyanidins) had a lower risk of depression
(Chang et al. 2016). Until now, no study has confirmed that polyphenols may be used
as antidepressive drugs, but the hint is implicit.
Consumption of flavonoids has also been noted to slow down the decline of the
cognitive function during ageing (Letenneur et al. 2007). Based on this research,
elder people (>65 years), with a high dietary intake of flavonoids had a better cognitive performance, than those with a diet poorer in flavonoids. Anyway, polyphenols
represent a group of phytonutrients that have in common.
3.3 Interaction of Polyphenols with Nutrients During Food
Processing
Food is a fuel and also a source of pleasure. Foods are mostly consumed cooked and
mixed together in foodstuffs and dishes. In the Med Diet, many cooking methods
make use of olive oil (rich in unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols) as a solvent.
These techniques start by heating virgin olive oil (around 90–120 °C), often adding
garlic, onion and other vegetables, favouring the release of fat-soluble nutrients and
increasing their bioavailability. According to Ramírez-Anaya et al (2015) and Rinaldi
de Alvarenga et al (2019), vegetables cooked in EVOO retain more nutrients and