Investigating Dietary Polyphenol Intake in the Australian Population: Results From the 2011-12 National Nutrition and...

There is a lack of detailed polyphenol intake data collected at the national level, both in Australia and globally. Hence, the aim of this study was to estimate the intake of total polyphenols, polyphenol classes, and polyphenol subclasses in a nationally representative sample of Australians across the lifespan.

Polyphenol intake was estimated from secondary analyses of two 24-h dietary recalls collected as part of the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey component of the Australian Health Survey (N = 7735) using an Australian-specific polyphenol database. Polyphenol content data were previously incorporated into this database using Phenol-Explorer. Intake of total polyphenols, polyphenol classes, and polyphenol subclasses was reported and compared by sex and age using median regression models, both before and after adjusting for energy intake.

The estimated total polyphenol intake of Australians aged 2+ years [mean (SD) age: 40.9 (22.7) years] was median (IQR) 479.07 (529.81) mg/day when unadjusted for energy intake and 253.18 (276.29) mg per 1000 kcal/day when adjusted. The most consumed polyphenol class was flavonoids, providing 64.5% and 55.6% of total polyphenols before and after adjusting for energy intake. Among major food groups, the top contributor to total polyphenols was non-alcoholic beverages, primarily consisting of tea, coffee, and coffee substitutes.

This study offers an Australian-wide comprehensive description of polyphenol intake. By addressing key gaps in the literature, this study contributes to the limited global and Australian research on polyphenol intake. Further, this study includes findings that align with other population-wide polyphenol intake studies from Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom that have also reported tea and coffee as primary sources of polyphenols.