Voichița Hurgoiu *
* Prof. dr. Voichița Hurgoiu, Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie “Iuliu Hațieganu” Cluj-Napoca
Abstract
Polyphenols are secondary metabolites of plants compounds with a strong antioxidant activity in the human organism. They play a role in the prevention of cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Flavonoids, the polyphenols best represented in the food, are present in almost all fruits, vegetables and beverages such as wine, tea, beer, cocoa and chocolate. The bioavailability of polyphenols is dependent on their chemical structure; food; intake; individual variation of the absorption and metabolism; plasma transport; tissue uptake and excretion; food storage and processing.