Volume 91, Issue 2, February (2004), pp. 301-306 © The Author 2004
doi:10.1079/BJN20031046

Medline/PubMed Citation | Related Articles in PubMed | Download to Citation Matcher  

Phenolic acid metabolites as biomarkers for tea- and coffee-derived polyphenol exposure in human subjects

Jonathan M. Hodgson¹, Shin Yee Chan¹, Ian B. Puddey¹, Amanda Devine², Naiyana Wattanapenpaiboon³, Mark L. Wahlqvist³, Widjaja Lukito⁴, Valerie Burke¹, Natalie C. Ward¹, Richard L. Prince², Kevin D. Croft^1
1University of Western Australia School of Medicine and Pharmacology and the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research at Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
²University of Western Australia School of Medicine and Pharmacology and the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research at QEII Medical Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
³The Asia Pacific Health and Nutrition Centre, Monash Asia Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
⁴SEAMEO-TROPMED Regional Center for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

 (Received 29 July 2003–Revised 8 October 2003–Accepted 10 October 2003)

Tea and coffee are rich in polyphenols with a variety of biological activities. Many of the demonstrated activities are consistent with favourable effects on the risk of chronic diseases. 4-O-methylgallic acid (4OMGA) and isoferulic acid are potential biomarkers of exposure to polyphenols derived from tea and coffee respectively. 4OMGA is derived from gallic acid in tea, and isoferulic acid is derived from chlorogenic acid in coffee. Our major objective was to explore the relationships of tea and coffee intake with 24 h urinary excretion of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid in human subjects. The relationships of long-term usual (111 participants) and contemporaneously recorded current (344 participants) tea and coffee intake with 24 h urinary excretion of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid were assessed in two populations. 4OMGA was related to usual (r 0·50, P<0·001) and current (r 0·57, P<0·001) tea intake, and isoferulic acid was related to usual (r 0·26, P=0·008) and current (r 0·18, P<0·001) coffee intake. Overall, our present results are consistent with the proposal that 4OMGA is a good biomarker for black tea-derived polyphenol exposure, but isoferulic acid may be of limited usefulness as a biomarker for coffee-derived polyphenol exposure.

Keywords:
Tea, Coffee, Polyphenols, Phenolic acids, Biomarkers

Abbreviations:
4OMGA, 4-O-methylgallic acid