polyphenol

[ pol-ee-fee-nawl, -nol ]

noun

1. Chemistry. a polymeric phenol.
2. Biochemistry. any of a group of naturally occurring compounds found significantly in fruits, vegetables, cereals, coffee, tea, and wine, and widely studied for properties believed to promote health and fight disease. flavonoid.

polyphenol

/ pŏl′ē-fē′nôl′,-nōl′ /

1. Any of various alcohols containing two or more benzene rings that each have at least one hydroxyl group (OH) attached. Many polyphenols occur naturally in plants and some kinds, such as the flavonoids and tannins, are believed to be beneficial to health.

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyphenol¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; poly- + phenol

Example Sentences

The absence of a specific polyphenol, syringic acid, served to identify the wine as white.

From Science Daily

But before McGivern could look for evidence of polyphenol degradation in the core samples, she first had to create a database of gene sequences that corresponded to polyphenol metabolism.

From Science Daily

Sure enough, she said, polyphenol metabolism was happening.

From Science Daily

"What we found was that genes across 58 different polyphenol pathways were expressed," McGivern said.

From Science Daily

But no studies, including decades of research on one polyphenol called resveratrol, have definitively linked the amounts that you get from red wine to good health, Cho said.

From Seattle Times