Consumption of unbalanced meals, consisting of foods rich in lipids and/or carbohydrates and calories, increases the susceptibility of the organism toward metabolic stress. Metabolic and transcriptional pathways are activated leading to a massive increase in free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with an increased risk for chronic diseases.  Flavonoids display antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro models. However, this evidence might be somehow of limited impact due to the non-physiological concentrations utilized, to the low degree of absorption of flavonoids and to their extensive metabolism within the body. The first systematic review of dietary intervention studies with plant foods and flavonoids on markers of antioxidant function, oxidative stress and inflammation will be presented. There is a strong need of increasing the existing knowledge on the real efficacy of flavonoids in vivo in order to clarify if they are active bioactive ingredients or just ancillary �travellers� of fruit and vegetables.

Dietary flavonoids: Bioactive ingredients or just simple "travellers" of plant foods?

245th National Meeting (2013)

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