Impact of thearubigins on the estimation of total dietary flavonoids in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

INTRODUCTION Nowadays, much attention is paid to black tea due to its potential role in chronic disease prevention, such as cardiovascular disease (1) and some types of cancer, such as [...]
Thearubigins (TR) are polymeric flavanol-derived compounds formed during the fermentation of tea leaves. Comprising ~70% of total polyphenols in black tea, TR may contribute majorly to its beneficial effects on health. To date, there is no appropriate food composition data on TR, although several studies have used data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) database to estimate TR intakes. We aimed to estimate dietary TR in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort and assess the impact of including TR or not in the calculation of the total dietary flavonoid intake. Dietary data were collected using a single standardized 24-h dietary recall interviewer-administered to 36037 subjects aged 35-74 years. TR intakes were calculated using the USDA database. TR intakes ranged from 0.9 mg/day in men from Navarra and San Sebastian in Spain to 532.5 mg/day in men from UK general population. TR contributed European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2013) 67, 779-782; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.89; published online 24 April 2013 Keywords: thearubigins; flavonoids; dietary intake; sources; EPIC