An Epidemiological Study Report on the Antioxidant and Phenolic Content of Selected Mediterranean Functional Foods, Their Consumption Association with the Body Mass Index, and Consumers Purchasing Behavior in a Sample of Healthy Greek Adults

Abstract

Functional food consumption is shown to have a positive effect on anthropometric parameters and human health promotion. In addition, consumers seem to be more interested in food choices, that may have a positive effect on their health. The current study aimed to identify the antioxidant and phenolic content of naturally functional foods from the Mediterranean diet and to investigate consumer behavior towards their consumption in terms of their weight control, as well as their purchasing behavior and knowledge of functional foods. For this purpose, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranate, grapefruit, red peppers, almonds and mountain tea were analyzed for their phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, using the Folin-Ciocalteau and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power assays, respectively. Furthermore, nine hundred forty-nine healthy Greek adults participated in an epidemiological study, by completing a validated food frequency questionnaire, for the consumption of the above investigated functional foods. Five hundred and fifty participants also completed an online questionnaire investigating factors that consumers evaluate when purchasing functional foods. Study results showed that the analyzed functional foods were high in antioxidants and phenolic compounds, especially the mountain tea. The increased consumption of cranberries, pomegranate, grapefruit, red peppers and mountain tea was significantly correlated with a decreased Body Mass Index, suggesting a possible positive role, in weight control. Participants seemed to be aware of the beneficial role of these specific investigated Mediterranean functional foods to human health. They evaluated the price, taste and nutritional value, as critical factors to buy these food products. A combination of factors seems to lead them to purchase and consume these functional foods. Future epidemiological and clinical studies should be conducted in order to further evaluate consumer preferences and bioactivity mechanisms related to Mediterranean functional food consumption.

Development of Dairy Products Fortified with Plant Extracts: Antioxidant and Phenolic Content Characterization

“…Specifically, plant byproducts and herbal extracts were utilized to prepare aqueous extracts that were easily incorporated into the final food products. However, an important factor that remains is the final organoleptic characteristics of fortified dairy products, as consumers usually choose taste over the health benefits of functional foods [12].…”

“…The term was first used in the 1980s by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan and describes food products that maintain beneficial health effects for human functions while also remaining nutritious [10,11]. Bioactive compounds containing antioxidants, polyphenols, carotenoids, fibers, and phytosterols have been used as sources of functional ingredients [12]. Herbs have therefore been characterized as plant based functional foods, as they constitute a great source of antioxidants [13].…”

Antitumoral properties of the pomegranate peel and blueberry extracts against tongue carcinoma (in vitro study)

“…Comparing the results of the antioxidant content between the PPE and BE, these results can agree with the results of Kalita et al who found higher antioxidant content also in PPE than BE using ORAC assay ( Kalita & Jayanty, 2014 ). Another study by Kandyliari et al can be correlated found higher antioxidant content in pomegranate than the blueberries ( Kandyliari et al, 2021 ).…”

Study of the Total Phenolic Content, Total Antioxidant Activity and In Vitro Digestibility of Novel Wheat Crackers Enriched with Cereal, Legume and Agricultural By-Product Flours

“…The 96-well microplate remained in the dark for 30 min and then the relative absorbance of the samples was measured at 595 nm in a spectrophotometer using Magellan™ data analysis software. The data were expressed as FeSO4 concentration (µM) [47,52,54].…”