Estimation of dietary flavonoid intake and major food sources of Korean adults

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have suggested that flavonoids exhibit preventive effects on degenerative diseases. However, lack of sufficient data on flavonoid intake has limited evaluating the proposed effects in populations. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the total and individual flavonoid intakes among Korean adults and determine the major dietary sources of these flavonoids. We constructed a flavonoid database of common Korean foods, based on the food list reported in the 24-h recall of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2007-2012, using data from the Korea Functional Food Composition Table, US Department of Agriculture flavonoid database, Phenol-Explorer database and other analytical studies. This database, which covers 49 % of food items and 76 % of food intake, was linked with the 24-h recall data of 33 581 subjects aged ≥19 years in the KNHANES 2007-2012. The mean daily intake of total flavonoids in Korean adults was 318·0 mg/d, from proanthocyanidins (22·3 %), flavonols (20·3 %), isoflavones (18·1 %), flavan-3-ols (16·2 %), anthocyanidins (11·6 %), flavanones (11·3 %) and flavones (0·3 %). The major contributing food groups to the flavonoid intake were fruits (54·4 %), vegetables (20·5 %), legumes and legume products (16·2 %) and beverages and alcohols (3·1 %), and the major contributing food items were apples (21·9 %), mandarins (12·5 %), tofu (11·5 %), onions (9·6 %) and grapes (9·0 %). In the regression analysis, the consumption of legumes and legume products, vegetables and fruits predicted total flavonoid intake the most. The findings of this study could facilitate further investigation on the health benefits of flavonoids and provide the basic information for establishing recommended flavonoid intakes for Koreans.

Dietary Flavonoids, CYP1A1 Genetic Variants, and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Korean population

“…However, the data were collected using a validated questionnaire and the participants were not aware of the specific hypotheses of the current study, thus reducing the potential for differential misclassification. Third, the amount of flavonoid intake in the present study was relatively small compared with that in another Korean study using a different flavonoid database 30 , although it is similar to a study using the same database 31 . The flavonoid database used in the present study did not include proanthocyanidins, which had the greatest contribution to total flavonoid intake.…”

Phenolic acid composition and antioxidant activity of hard red winter wheat varieties

“…Flavonoids are the largest subgroup of phenolic compounds. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and tea are generally considered as major dietary sources for flavonoids (Jun, Shin, & Joung, ; Kent, Charlton, Russell, Mitchell, & Flood, ). Marinova, Ribarova, and Atanassova () reported TFC of various fruits and vegetables.…”

The Consumption of Dairy Products Is Associated with Reduced Risks of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Women but not in Men

“…Since the amount of each food group consumed in the 24-h dietary recalls allows us to understand food consumption patterns [26], we also investigated food group intakes according to dairy product consumption. The food groups were categorized based on the food code system used in the KNHANES food database [21] and prior studies [24,27]. All food consumed by study participants from the KNHANES were grouped as whole grains, refined grains, noodles/dumplings, flour/breads, burgers/pizza, starch vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, meat/poultry, fish/shellfish, eggs, legumes/legume products, nuts/seeds, sugars/sweets, oils/fats, dairy products, non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, and others.…”