Estimation of Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Major Food Sources of Korean Adults- the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2007-2012-

Abstract

Epidemiological studies suggest flavonoids have preventive effects on chronic diseases. In this study, we aimed to estimate the intakes of total and individual flavonoids of Korean adults, their major dietary sources, and the association with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. We constructed the flavonoid database for all foods reported by the 24-h dietary recall (DR) of the KNHANES 2007-2012 using data from Rural Development Administration of Korea, US Department of Agriculture, Japan Functional Food Factor Database, and other analytic studies. This database, which covers 50.0% of all food items, was linked with 24-h DR data of 33581 subjects aged 蠅19 years in the KNHANES 2007-2012. Mean daily total flavonoid intake of subjects was 245.12 mg/d, from flavonols (24.3%), isoflavones (22.3%), flavanols (21.8%), flavonones (16.0%), anthocyanins (15.2%), and flavones (0.4%). The major food sources were fruits(52.7%), vegetables(25.5%), legumes and legume products(17.6%), beverages and alcohols(2.5%). By food items, apple was the highest contributor to the total flavonoid intake, followed by mandarin, tofu, and onion. In addition, the flavonoid intake increased with age (P=0.0007) and education level (P<0.0001). Antioxidant capacity of flavonoids in the diet and the health benefits of dietary flavonoids need further investigation using the database and estimates in this study.