Phenolic compounds content and antioxidant capacity of meals provided to elementary public schools in Chile during...

The Chilean National School Feeding Program (NSFP) delivers breakfast and lunch meals that supply 250 and 450 kcal, respectively, along the country. In the last decades, a significant increase of obesity has been observed in primary education children, and it involves risk factors of non-communicable diseases. The dietary intake of foods containing phenolic compounds (PC) exerts favorable effects on health by reducing risk factors of prevalent diseases. The aim of the study was to measure the PC content and antioxidant capacity (AC) [ORAC and DPPH] of meals provided by the NSFP in Quillota, Chile, in 2011. The PC supply of the whole meals served ranged from 362.7 to 1,730 mg GAE. The best breakfast foods include whole grain cookie (2.59 ± 0.3 mg GAE/g), bread with avocado, quince jelly or strawberry jam (1.61 ± 0.13 to 2.05 ± 0.3 mg GAE/g); while the best lunch salads include beetroot, lettuce, and cabbage/fish (1.66 ± 0.3 to 2.35 ± 0.1 mg GAE/g), and main courses contain legumes, or mixed vegetables. The lowest PC contents were observed in pasta and rice preparations (p < 0.05). Among desserts, the best source of PC is fruit (1.81 ± 0.04 to 6.91 ± 0.31 mg GAE/g). The correlation between PC and AC varied according to the type of meal. PC content and AC are additional criteria for selecting the best quality meals, in addition to the nutrients and energy content. The results support the recommendation to increase the supply of fruits and vegetable/legumes preparations and fruits instead of starchy foods to scholars.