This book will describe the most recent studies about metabolism and the current evidence on the health effects of the different group of polyphenols.
The first two chapters will provide an overview of extractable fraction and non-extractable polyphenols, a relevant fraction of dietary polyphenols that are extensively metabolised by the action of microbiota and that exhibit potential health effects. Analytical methods available for identification and quantification of polyphenols in foods and biological samples will be considered in the third chapter. In the following chapters, the different families of phenolic compounds: hydroxycinnamic acids (chapter 4), flavonoids (chapter 5), anthocyanidins (chapter 6), flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins (chapter 7), hydrolyzable tannins (chapter 8), lignans (chapter 9) and stilbenes (chapter 10) will be presented. Bioavailability, bioaccesibility, pharmacokinetics studies, microbial metabolism of these families of compounds will be reviewed in individual chapters, along with the biological activities described in literature for these groups of compounds. Recent epidemiological and clinical intervention studies showing protective effects of polyphenols and discussing the gaps in this term will be included in chapter 10 and the importance of the interindividual variability in the metabolism and health effects will be discussed in chapter 11. Due to the importance of gut microbiota to understand the metabolism and health effects of polyphenols, chapter 12 will be dedicated to the interaction between polyphenols and gut microbiota.
