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A New Database Facilitates Characterization of Flavonoid Intake, Sources, and Positive Associations with Diet Quality among US Adults

Sebastian RS, Wilkinson Enns C, Goldman JD, Martin CL, Steinfeldt LC, Murayi T, Moshfegh AJ
The Journal of Nutrition 2015 145(6):1239-48

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 25948787
PubMed Central
PMC4442120
DOI
10.3945/jn.115.213025
Funding
USDA Agricultural Research Service (authors are USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center staff).
Competing interests
Not stated in the reviewed abstract/metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional analysis of one day of 24-hour dietary recall data from NHANES 2007-2008 (What We Eat In America), using a newly released USDA flavonoid values database to estimate total and class-level flavonoid intake and its association with Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2010 diet-quality scores.
ModelHuman observational cohort; nationally representative US dietary survey, not a disease model.
Sample5,420 US adults aged ≥20 years.
InterventionNone; observational dietary intake analysis.
DurationSingle 24-hour dietary recall per participant (NHANES 2007-2008 cycle).
EndpointsTotal and class-level flavonoid intake (mg/day); Primary food/beverage sources of flavonoid intake; Association between flavonoid intake quartile and Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) total and component scores

What the study showed, in plain terms

USDA researchers used a newly built food-flavonoid database to work out how much flavonoid Americans actually eat, and whether eating more of it lines up with an overall healthier diet.

Using one day of detailed dietary recall from over 5,400 adults in the national NHANES survey, they found average flavonoid intake was about 251 mg per day, with tea supplying the large majority of it, and that people eating more flavonoids scored consistently higher on a standard measure of overall diet quality.

Bottom line: cited here for background context on the broader flavonoid family fisetin belongs to — higher flavonoid intake tracks with a healthier diet pattern generally, even though this study did not isolate fisetin specifically.

Key findings

Mean US adult flavonoid intake was 251 mg/day, driven overwhelmingly (80%) by tea consumption; total and most component Healthy Eating Index scores rose significantly across increasing flavonoid intake quartiles, whether or not tea's contribution was included.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Cross-sectional, single-day dietary recall — cannot establish causation and may not reflect habitual intake. Measures total and class-level flavonoids, not fisetin individually, so it cannot be used to estimate fisetin-specific intake.

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