title: Bioavailability of the polyphenols: status and controversies.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy. maxdar@iss.it <maxdar@iss.it>
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Archivio
authors.forename: Carmelina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Filesi
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Varì
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scazzocchio
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masella
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D004032:Diet; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D059808:Polyphenols