Phenol-Explorer 3.0: a major update of the Phenol-Explorer database to incorporate data on the effects of food processing on polyphenol content

TLDR

Polyphenols are bioactive phytochemicals that may help prevent chronic diseases, and Phenol‑Explorer is the sole freely available web‑based database cataloguing their food content and metabolism. The authors release Phenol‑Explorer 3.0, adding data on how food processing affects polyphenol contents. The update incorporates data on over 100 foods and 161 polyphenols from 129 peer‑reviewed studies, stored in new tables linked to the existing relational schema, and expresses processing effects as retention factor coefficients adjusted for water content. This first database on processing effects provides traceable, source‑backed data that enables more accurate polyphenol exposure estimation from dietary surveys. Database URL: http://www.phenol-explorer.eu.

Abstract

Polyphenols are a major class of bioactive phytochemicals whose consumption may play a role in the prevention of a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and cancers. Phenol-Explorer, launched in 2009, is the only freely available web-based database on the content of polyphenols in food and their in vivo metabolism and pharmacokinetics. Here we report the third release of the database (Phenol-Explorer 3.0), which adds data on the effects of food processing on polyphenol contents in foods. Data on >100 foods, covering 161 polyphenols or groups of polyphenols before and after processing, were collected from 129 peer-reviewed publications and entered into new tables linked to the existing relational design. The effect of processing on polyphenol content is expressed in the form of retention factor coefficients, or the proportion of a given polyphenol retained after processing, adjusted for change in water content. The result is the first database on the effects of food processing on polyphenol content and, following the model initially defined for Phenol-Explorer, all data may be traced back to original sources. The new update will allow polyphenol scientists to more accurately estimate polyphenol exposure from dietary surveys. Database URL: http://www.phenol-explorer.eu