http://www.dietcan.net/docs/Polifenoles%20en%20alimentos%20y%20biodisponibilidad.pdf

Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability

This review summarizes the multifaceted aspects of antioxidants and the basic kinetic models of inhibited autoxidation and analyzes the chemical principles of antioxidant capacity assays. Depending upon the reactions involved, these assays can roughly be classified into two types:  assays based on hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions and assays based on electron transfer (ET). The majority of HAT-based assays apply a competitive reaction scheme, in which antioxidant and substrate compete for thermally generated peroxyl radicals through the decomposition of azo compounds. These assays include inhibition of induced low-density lipoprotein autoxidation, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), total radical trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP), and crocin bleaching assays. ET-based assays measure the capacity of an antioxidant in the reduction of an oxidant, which changes color when reduced. The degree of color change is correlated with the sample's antioxidant concentrations. ET-based assays include th...

The Chemistry behind Antioxidant Capacity Assays

Bioavailability and bioefficacy of polyphenols in humans. I. Review of 97 bioavailability studies

Polyphenols are secondary metabolites of plants and are generally involved in defense against ultraviolet radiation or aggression by pathogens. In the last decade, there has been much interest in the potential health benefits of dietary plant polyphenols as antioxidant. Epidemiological studies and associated meta-analyses strongly suggest that long term consumption of diets rich in plant polyphenols offer protection against development of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis and neurodegenerative diseases. Here we present knowledge about the biological effects of plant polyphenols in the context of relevance to human health.

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Plant Polyphenols as Dietary Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease

Phenolic compounds in plants and agri-industrial by-products: Antioxidant activity, occurrence, and potential uses

Total antioxidant capacity as a tool to assess redox status: critical view and experimental data

The antioxidant activity of four derivatives of benzoic acid was systematically compared with the activity of the four homologous derivatives of cinnamic acid. The couples of compounds differed for the kind of aromatic substitution (p-hydroxy, p-hydroxymethoxy, p-hydroxydimethoxy, dihydroxy). The antioxidant activity was measured using (i) a competition kinetic test, to measure the relative capacity to quench peroxyl radical and (ii) the in vitro oxidative modification of human low-density lipoprotein (LDL), initiated by 2,2'-azobis(amidinopropane) dihydrochloride or catalyzed by Cu(II). In both models, cinnamic acids were more efficient than their benzoic counterparts. As for the influence of the aromatic substitution, in the kinetic test the antioxidant activity increased in the sequence p-hydroxy < p-hydroxymethoxy < dihydroxy < p-hydroxydimethoxy. In contrast, in the LDL system, the dihydroxy acids had an antioxidant capacity equal to or higher than that of the p-hydroxydimethoxy acids.

Benzoic and Cinnamic Acid Derivatives as Antioxidants: Structure−Activity Relation

Inhibition of human low-density lipoprotein oxidation by caffeic acid and other hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives

Using liquid/liquid extraction, three fractions were obtained from an Italian red wine containing single polyphenolic subfractions: (1) phenolic acids and quercetin-3-glucuronide, (2) catechins and quercetin-3-glucoside, and (3) anthocyanins. Beside the scavenging capacity of the different fractions against hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals, the in vitro inhibition of low density lipoprotein oxidation and platelet aggregation (two main events in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis) were tested. The antioxidant activity of the fractions has been compared with that of the original red wine before and after dealcoholization. The anthocyanin fraction was the most effective both in scavenging reactive oxygen species and in inhibiting lipoprotein oxidation and platelet aggregation. This higher activity can be explained by both its high concentration in red wine and its antioxidant efficiency, which, at least for peroxyl radical scavenging, was three times as high as that of the other two fractions. Our results suggest that anthocyanins could be the key component in red wine in light of the protection against cardiovascular diseases, although this hypothesis needs in vivo evidence.

Antioxidant Activity of Different Phenolic Fractions Separated from an Italian Red Wine.

Despite extensive literature describing the biological effects of polyphenols, little is known about their absorption from diet, one major unresolved point consisting of the absorption of the bound forms of polyphenols. In this view, in the present work we studied the absorption in humans of phenolic acids from coffee, a common beverage particularly rich in bound phenolic acids, such as caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid. Coffee brew was analyzed for free and total (free + bound) phenolic acids. Chlorogenic acid (5'-caffeoylquinic acid), a bound form of caffeic acid, was present in coffee at high levels, while free phenolic acids were undetectable. After alkaline hydrolysis, which released bound phenolic acids, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and high levels of caffeic acid were detected. Plasma samples were collected before and 1 and 2 h after coffee administration and analyzed for free and total phenolic acid content. Two different procedures were applied to release bound phenolic acids in plasma: beta-glucuronidase treatment and alkaline hydrolysis. Coffee administration resulted in increased total plasma caffeic acid concentration, with an absorption peak at 1 h. Caffeic acid was the only phenolic acid found in plasma samples after coffee administration, while chlorogenic acid was undetectable. Most of caffeic acid was present in plasma in bound form, mainly in the glucuronate/sulfate forms. Due to the absence of free caffeic acid in coffee, plasma caffeic acid is likely to be derived from hydrolysis of chlorogenic acid in the gastrointestinal tract.

Cristina Scaccini

Papers

Total antioxidant capacity as a tool to assess redox status: critical view and experimental data

Benzoic and Cinnamic Acid Derivatives as Antioxidants: Structure−Activity Relation

Inhibition of human low-density lipoprotein oxidation by caffeic acid and other hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives

Antioxidant Activity of Different Phenolic Fractions Separated from an Italian Red Wine.

Absorption of phenolic acids in humans after coffee consumption.