Phenols in the plant and in man. The potential for possible nutritional enhancement of the diet by modifying the phenols content or profile

Abstract

There is growing recognition that many phenolic secondary metabolites present in foodstuffs may possibly exert bene®cial effects on human health. This may to some degree be mediated via antioxidant actions, but a range of more speci®c pharmacological effects have also been proposed. Given this background, there may be favourable consequences for the general health of Western populations as a result of optimising the phenolic content of the diet. This paper reviews what is known of the function of phenolics both in the plant and in man. It also describes current understanding of the biosynthesis of phenolics in plants, with emphasis on where potential controlling steps may exist. Finally, advances in identi®cation and isolation of the genes coding for phenolic biosynthetic enzymes or regulatory proteins are also summarised. Taken together, this information provides a basis for attempts to modify and optimise the phenolic content of food crops, using either conventional plant breeding along with manipulation of agronomic practices, or else the more targeted approaches of modern molecular biology.

Intakes of plant foods, fibre and fat and risk of breast cancer – a prospective study in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort

“…The highest mean intake was found in the medium fibrelow fat group and the lowest mean intake in the medium fibrehigh fat group. This is an interesting finding since it is possible that fermented milk influences the gut flora, which could lead to an increased activation of dietary lignans to active mammalian lignans (Cassidy et al, 2000;Parr and Bolwell, 2000;Adlercreutz, . In fact, a case -control study found a synergistic protective effect of fibre and fermented milk on breast cancer risk.…”

Phenolics in Human Health

“…For example hydroxycinnamic acids are found at high concentrations in foods but esterification decreases their intestinal absorption. The bioavailability of phenolic compounds can also be affected by differences in cell wall structures, location of glycosides in cells and binding of phenolic compounds within the food matrix [22]- [26].…”

Influence of production system, age an sex on carcass parameters and some biochemical meat quality characteristics of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.)

“…It is known that minor components of the diet, such as plant sterols or phenolic compounds, can affect consumer health (Parr & Bolwell, 2000;Piironen et al, 2000;Ostlund et al, 2002), and thus we also aimed to identify an unknown substance found in the neutral lipid (NL) fraction of reindeer meat during fatty acid analyses (Sampels, 2005).…”