A perspective on phenolic compounds, their potential health benefits, and international regulations: The revised Brazilian normative on food supplements

Abstract

Phenolic compounds possess a myriad of health benefits, thus making them potential ingredients for the procurement of food supplements. Anvisa, Brazil’s national regulatory body, has recently revised the regulation on food supplements and only a few phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, rutin, proanthocyanidins, and tocopherols) have been mentioned. Despite several scientific evidences on the bioactivity of phenolics, especially concerning their antioxidant activity, Anvisa does not authorize any claims for supplements containing these compounds, except for tocopherols, which was mentioned as “vitamin E”. The upper limit doses allowed for the phenolics appear to be lower than what the literature suggests as necessary to achieve potential health benefits and might be prohibitive for supplements available in the international market. Moreover, Brazilian sources of phenolic compounds are not listed in the Normative Instruction (NI) as authorized ingredients for supplements. The Brazilian NI on food supplements has moved forward, but it is still limited.