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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Nutrient Data Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #271905

Title: USDA database for the flavonoid content of selected foods, release 3

Author
item Bhagwat, Seema
item Haytowitz, David
item Holden, Joanne

Submitted to: Home Page
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2011
Publication Date: 9/27/2011
Citation: Bhagwat, S.A., Haytowitz, D.B., Holden, J.M. 2011. USDA database for the flavonoid content of selected foods, release 3. Available: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=6231.

Interpretive Summary: The scientific community, the media and the general public are interested in the flavonoid content of foods because of their purported beneficial health effects. The updated release of the “USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 2” had more U.S. foods and was made available on the NDL website (http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata) in January 2007. A large volume of analytical data has been published in scientific journals since the updated release. Approximately 315 new articles published between the second release to the end of 2010 were retrieved and reviewed. One hundred new articles containing analytical data were critically evaluated for data quality. New acceptable literature data were combined with the data in the Release 2 of the flavonoids database to compile Release 3. The foods are organized by “Food Groups” instead of in alphabetical order. Data are presented for five subclasses of flavonoids: flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols and anthocyanidins. The mean, standard error, minimum and maximum values per 100g edible portions (mg/100g) with confidence codes (data quality) and sources (references) are provided. The database is available on NDL’s web site: http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata. A separate table of individual data records used to create the aggregated values is contained in the database. The updated database now contains values for 504 foods, more than doubling the number of foods, in the database since the first release. Varieties of fruits (apples, berries, citrus fruits), vegetables (onions, lettuce, peppers), beverages (teas, wines) and chocolates are included in the database. The database includes source documents citing research conducted in the U.S. and also in 50 other countries. Other flavonoids such as isoflavones (daidzein, genistein and glycitein) and proanthocyanidins (dimmers, trimers, 4-6mers, 7-10mers and >10 polymers) are not included in this database, but were released earlier as separate databases and are available on NDL’s web site. Combined, these three databases will provide reliable values for epidemiological studies to assess the relationship between flavonoid intakes and health benefits. The data can also be used to estimate flavonoids intakes of the U.S. population.

Technical Abstract: Interest of the scientific community in the types and levels of flavonoids in foods continues because of consistent evidence regarding beneficial effects of dietary flavonoids. Flavonoids, particularly flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins, have been associated with the reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases by modulating various mechanisms of primary and secondary prevention such as modulating blood pressure, vascular inflammation, and endothelial-dependent vasomotor function. The association of reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases and flavonoids appears to be stronger than that for the inhibition of cancer, although some evidence for the reduction of some organ-specific cancers, such as lung and stomach, has been reported. The Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) of ARS/USDA updated the flavonoids database (USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 1) in January 2007 to enhance the representation of the U.S. foods in the database. A large volume of analytical data on food flavonoids has been published since the update of the USDA’s flavonoids database. Approximately 315 articles published between the second release and the end of 2010 were retrieved through literature searches and reviewed. One hundred new articles containing analytical data were critically evaluated to assess data quality. New acceptable literature data were combined with the data from the 2007 database. Foods are now organized in “Food Groups” instead of in alphabetical order. The database contains values for 26 monomeric compounds in five subclasses of dietary flavonoids: 1) flavonols (isorhamnetin, kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin), 2) flavones (apigenin, luteolin), 3) flavanones (eriodictyol, hesperetin, naringenin), 4) flavan-3-ols [ (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epicatechin 3-gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin, (-) epigallocatechin 3-gallate, (+)-gallocatechin, theaflavin, theaflavin 3-gallate, theaflavin 3’-gallate, theaflavin 3,3’-digallate, thearubigins], and 5) anthocyanidins (cyanidin, delphinidin, malvidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, petunidin). All the values are reported as aglycones of compounds except for catechins and theaflavins which exist as gallate esters, predominantly in tea. The mean, standard error, minimum, and maximum values per 100g edible portion (mg/100g), number of samples, confidence codes for data quality and references from where the values were obtained are reported for each compound in every food. The database is available on NDL’s website: http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata. A separate table of the individual data records used to create the aggregated values is also contained in the database. The updated database contains data for 504 foods; 119 more foods than in the previous release. The database includes source documents citing research conducted in the U.S. and 50 other countries. Other flavonoids such as isoflavones (daidzein, genistein and glycitein) and proanthocyanidins (dimmers, trimers, 4-6mers, 7-10mers and >10 polymers) are not included in this database, but were released earlier as separate databases and are available on the NDL web site. Combined, these three databases will provide reliable values for epidemiological studies to assess the relationship between flavonoid intakes and health benefits. The data can also be used to estimate flavonoids intakes of the U.S. population.