Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Sources and Health Effects of Dietary
Ellagitannins
Riitta Törrönen
Food and Health Research Centre, Department of Clinical Nutrition,
University of Kuopio, 70211 Kuopio, Finland;
riitta.torronen@uku.fi
8.1 Introduction
Polyphenols are an integral part of the human diet. Although they are
not regarded as essential nutrients, they may affect human health by
many mechanisms. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and
anticarcinogenic and other biological activities demonstrated for various
polyphenols suggest that they could have beneficial health effects and
provide protection against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular
diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancers (Scalbert
et al
., 2005,
Erdman
et al.
, 2007). Scientific evidence on the role of polyphenol
consumption in disease prevention is promising but not conclusive, and
more human clinical trials and epidemiologic studies are needed. For
evaluation of the health benefits of polyphenols, comprehensive data on
the composition and contents of the most common compounds in foods
and on their dietary intake in different populations are required. During
the past two decades, research on food phenolics has mainly focused on
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