Abstract
This study examines the correlation of acute and habitual dietary intake of flavan-3-ol monomers, proanthocyanidins, theaflavins, and their main food sources with the urinary concentrations of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (EPIC). Participants (N = 419, men and women) provided 24-h urine samples and completed a 24-h dietary recall (24-HDR) on the same day. Acute and habitual dietary data were collected using a standardized 24-HDR software and a validated dietary questionnaire, respectively. Intake of flavan-3-ols was estimated using the Phenol-Explorer database. Concentrations of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin in 24-h urine were analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry after enzymatic deconjugation. Simple and partial Spearman’s correlations showed that urinary concentrations of (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin and their sum were more strongly correlated with acute than with habitual intake of individual and total monomers (acute rpartial = 0.13–0.54, p < 0.05; and habitual rpartial = 0.14–0.28, p < 0.01), proanthocyanidins (acute rpartial = 0.24–0.49, p < 0.001; and habitual rpartial = 0.10–0.15, p < 0.05), theaflavins (acute rpartial = 0.22–0.31, p < 0.001; and habitual rpartial = 0.20–0.26, p < 0.01), and total flavan-3-ols (acute rpartial = 0.40–0.48, p < 0.001; and habitual rpartial = 0.23–0.33, p < 0.001). Similarly, urinary concentrations of flavan-3-ols were weakly correlated with both acute (rpartial = 0.12–0.30, p < 0.05) and habitual intake (rpartial = 0.10–0.27, p < 0.05) of apple and pear, stone fruits, berries, chocolate and chocolate products, cakes and pastries, tea, herbal tea, wine, red wine, and beer and cider. Moreover, all comparable correlations were stronger for urinary (-)-epicatechin than for (+)-catechin. In conclusion, our data support the use of urinary concentrations of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin, especially as short-term nutritional biomarkers of dietary catechin, epicatechin and total flavan-3-ol monomers.
Highlights
Flavan-3-ols or flavanols are a large and complex flavonoid subclass widely present in a number of plant-origin foods such as pome fruits, legumes, cocoa, tea and wine [1,2]
The highest median urinary concentrations for (+)-catechin and (-)epicatechin were observed in Heidelberg (Germany): 0.15 and 0.29 μmol/24 h, respectively; whereas the lowest concentrations were observed in Naples (Italy): 0.06 and 0.17 μmol/24 h, respectively
Partial ones showed that urinary (+)-catechin concentrations, and their sum with urinary (-)-epicatechin, correlated slightly with the habitual intakes of proanthocyanidin dimers, trimers and tetramers-hexamers, respectively
Summary
Flavan-3-ols or flavanols are a large and complex flavonoid subclass widely present in a number of plant-origin foods such as pome fruits (e.g., apples and pears), legumes, cocoa, tea and wine [1,2]. Flavan-3-ols can be divided into monomers: catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, gallocatechin, and their gallate derivatives; and their oligomeric and polymeric forms, known as proanthocyanidins, of which the degree of polymerization can range from 2 to 50 units or more [3,4]. Theaflavins and thearubigins are flavanolderived compounds formed as result of oxidation and polymerization reactions during fermentation of the green leaves in black tea production [5]. Bioavailability of flavan-3-ols depends largely on their degree of polymerization. In European adults, flavan-3-ol intake varies from 124.8–160.5 mg/day (for Greek women and men) to 376.6–453.6 mg/day (for UK women and men), flavan-3-ol monomers (18.6–44.9%) and proanthocyanidins (48.8–80.8%)
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