Polyphenol
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Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol group per molecule. The polyphenols are responsible for the coloring of some plants—for example, the color of leaves in the autumn.
Research indicates that a class of polyphenols has antioxidant characteristics with potential health benefits. These polyphenol antioxidants may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.<ref>Arts, I.C. and P.C. Hollman, Polyphenols and disease risk in epidemiologic studies. Am J Clin Nutr, 2005. 81(1 Suppl): p. 317S-325S.</ref>
More recently reported is that these substances reduce the onset of Alzheimer's.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5298404.stm</ref>
Sources of polyphenols include black currants, yerba mate, peanuts, green tea, white tea, red wine, white wine, olive oil and olive derivatives, dark chocolate, and pomegranates, and other fruits and vegetables. Virgin olive oil has been found to be substantially higher in polyphenols than "non-virgin" olive oil.<ref>http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/5/333</ref>
High levels of polyphenols can generally be found in the fruit skins with some of the highest percentages in grape skin, apple skin and orange skin.
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<references /> UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS NUTRITION PERSPECTIVES Vol 30, No. 3 May/June 2005
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