A number of databases on the plant metabolome describe the chemistry and biosynthesis of plant chemicals. However, no such database is specifically focused on foods and more precisely on polyphenols, one of the major classes of phytochemicals. As antoxidants, polyphenols influence human health and may play a role in the prevention of a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, some cancers or type 2 diabetes. To determine polyphenol intake in populations and study their association with health, it is essential to have detailed information on their content in foods. However this information is not easily collected due to the variety of their chemical structures and the variability of their content in a given food. Phenol-Explorer is the first comprehensive web-based database on polyphenol content in foods. It contains more than 37 000 original data points collected from 638 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The quality of these data has been evaluated before they were aggregated to produce final representative mean content values for 502 polyphenols in 452 foods. The web interface allows making various queries on the aggregated data to identify foods containing a given polyphenol or polyphenols present in a given food. For each mean content value, it is possible to trace all original content values and their literature sources. Phenol-Explorer is a major step forward in the development of databases on food constituents and the food metabolome. It should help researchers to better understand the role of phytochemicals in the technical and nutritional quality of food, and food manufacturers to develop tailor-made healthy foods. Database URL: http://www.phenol-explorer.eu

The objective of this study was to create a French database on the polyphenol content of fruit and vegetables as uncooked fruits and vegetables and then to evaluate polyphenol intake through fruit and vegetable consumption in France. To achieve this, we used the Folin-Ciocalteu method adapted to fruit and vegetable polyphenol quantitation (1). Vegetables with the highest polyphenol concentration were artichokes, parsley, and brussels sprouts [>250 mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g fresh edible portion (FEP)]; fruits with the highest concentrations were strawberries, lychees, and grapes (>180 mg of GAE/100 g FEP). Conversely, melons (Cantaloupe cv.) and avocados had the lowest polyphenol concentration for fruits and vegetables, respectively. Based on fruit consumption data, apples and strawberries are the main sources of polyphenols in the French diet, whereas potatoes, lettuces, and onions are the most important vegetable sources. Total polyphenol intake from fruit is about 3 times higher than from vegetables, due to the lower polyphenol concentration in vegetables. The calculation of polyphenol intake, based on both assessment methods used [(Société d'Etudes de la Communication, Distribution et Publicité (SECODIP) and Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants (SUVIMAX)], showed that apples and potatoes provide approximatively half of the total polyphenol intake from fruit and vegetables in the French diet.

Pulses display nutritional benefits and are recommended in sustainable diets. Indeed, they are rich in proteins and fibers, and can contain variable amounts of micronutrients. However, pulses also contain bioactive compounds such as phytates, saponins, or polyphenols/tannins that can exhibit ambivalent nutritional properties depending on their amount in the diet. We characterized the nutritional composition and bioactive compound content of five types of prepared pulses frequently consumed in France (kidney beans, white beans, chickpeas, brown and green lentils, flageolets), and specifically compared the effects of household cooking vs. canning on the composition of pulses that can be consumed one way or the other. The contents in macro-, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds highly varied from one pulse to another (i.e., 6.9 to 9.7 g/100 g of cooked product for proteins, 4.6 to 818.9 µg/100 g for lutein or 15.0 to 284.3 mg/100 g for polyphenols). The preparation method was a key factor governing pulse final nutritional composition in hydrophilic compounds, depending on pulse species. Canning led to a greater decrease in proteins, total dietary fibers, magnesium or phytate contents compared to household cooking (i.e., −30%, −44%, −33% and −38%, p < 0.05, respectively, in kidney beans). As canned pulses are easy to use for consumers, additional research is needed to improve their transformation process to further optimize their nutritional quality.

The increasing concern for consumed fat by western populations has raised the question of the level and the quality of fat intake, especially the composition of fatty acids (FA) and their impact on human health. As a consequence, consumers and nutritionists have requested updated publications on FA composition of food containing fat. In the present study, fourteen different kinds of edible oils (rapeseed, olive, hazelnut, argan, groundnut, grape seed, sesame, sunflower, walnut and organic walnut, avocado, wheat germ, and two combined oils) were analysed for FA determination using a BPX-70 60 m highly polar GC column. Oils were classified according to the classification of Dubois et al. (2007Dubois et al. ( , 2008. Monounsaturated FA (MUFA) group oils, including rapeseed, olive, hazelnut, and avocado oils, contained mainly oleic acid (OA). Groundnut and argan oils, also rich in MUFA, showed in addition high linoleic acid (LA) contents. In the polyunsaturated (PUFA) group, grape seed oil presented the highest LA content while sunflower, sesame, and wheat germ oils showed noticeable MUFA amounts in addition to high PUFA contents. Walnut oils, also rich in LA, showed the highest linolenic acid (ALA) content. The n-6/n-3 ratio of each oil was calculated. Trans-FA (TFA) was also detected and quantified. Results were compared with the data published during the past decade, and the slight discrepancies were attributed to differences in origin and variety of seed-cultivars, and in seed and oil processes.

Trans fatty acid content of foods and intake levels in FranceAs a preliminary for recommended trans fatty acid (TFA) consumption levels as regards health, it was essential to estimate the TFA intake level. Recent results of TFA content of foods were collected, and the total TFA, 18:1 TFA, 18:2 TFA and total conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compositions were recorded for around 900 food items. These results were combined with the latest consumption data in France in order to update the TFA intake level in France. Average daily total TFA intake was about 3.0 and 3.4 g/ day in boys and men, and about 2.7 and 2.8 g/day in girls and women, respectively. The same tendency was observed for TFA 18:1 intake (boys 2.1 g/day, men 2.4 g/day, girls 1.9 g/day, women 2.0 g/day) and for TFA 18:2 (boys 0.2 g/day, men 0.24 g/day, girls 0.18 g/day, women 0.18 g/day). For CLA, the mean daily intake was higher in males than in females for both adults (0.21 g/day vs. 0.18 g/day) and children (0.18 g/ day vs. 0.17 g/day). Foods of animal origin (dairy products and meat from ruminants) were the main contributors of total TFA, accounting for 60% of the identified TFA. Dairy products were the main contributors of total CLA, accounting for 70% of the identified CLA. In other words, manufactured pastries, biscuits, ready meals and chocolate bars accounted for 40% of total TFA and 30% of CLA.