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Bioavailability of the Polyphenols: Status and Controversies

2010; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 11; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/ijms11041321

1661-6596

Massimo D’Archivio, Carmelina Filesi, Rosaria Varı́, Beatrice Scazzocchio, Roberta Masella,

Phytoestrogen effects and research

The current interest in polyphenols has been driven primarily by epidemiological studies. However, to establish conclusive evidence for the effectiveness of dietary polyphenols in disease prevention, it is useful to better define the bioavailability of the polyphenols, so that their biological activity can be evaluated. The bioavailability appears to differ greatly among the various phenolic compounds, and the most abundant ones in our diet are not necessarily those that have the best bioavailability profile. In the present review, we focus on the factors influencing the bioavailability of the polyphenols. Moreover, a critical overview on the difficulties and the controversies of the studies on the bioavailability is discussed.