Phenolic compounds content and antioxidant capacity of meals provided to elementary public schools in Chile during 2011.

The Chilean National School Feeding Program (NSFP) delivers breakfast and lunch meals that supply 250 and 450 kcal, respectively, along the country. In the last decades, a significant increase of obesity has been observed in primary education children, and it involves risk factors of non-communicable diseases. The dietary intake of foods containing phenolic compounds (PC) exerts favorable effects on health by reducing risk factors of prevalent diseases. The aim of the study was to measure the PC content and antioxidant capacity (AC) [ORAC and DPPH] of meals provided by the NSFP in Quillota, Chile, in 2011. The PC supply of the whole meals served ranged from 362.7 to 1,730 mg GAE. The best breakfast foods include whole grain cookie (2.59±0.3 mg GAE/g), bread with avocado, quince jelly or strawberry jam (1.61±0.13 to 2.05±0.3 mg GAE/g); while the best lunch salads include beetroot, lettuce, and cabbage/fish (1.66±0.3 to 2.35±0.1 mg GAE/g), and main courses contain legumes, or mixed vegetables. The lowest PC contents were observed in pasta and rice preparations (p El Programa de Alimentacion Escolar (PAE) para ensenanza basica en Chile distribuye, en todo el pais, desayunos y almuerzos que aportan 250 y 450 kcal, respectivamente. En las ultimas decadas ha aumentado significativamente la obesidad en escolares, lo que induce factores de riesgo de enfermedades no transmisibles. La ingestion de alimentos que contienen polifenoles (PF) ejerce efectos beneficiosos al reducir factores de riesgo de enfermedades prevalentes. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar el contenido de PF y la capacidad antioxidante (CA) [ORAC y DPPH] de los alimentos entregados por el PAE en Quillota, Chile, en 2011. El aporte de PF en las raciones servidas fluctuo entre 362.7 y 1,730 mg EAG. El mejor desayuno contenia galleton con granos integrales (2.59±0.3 mg EAG/g), pan con palta, dulce de membrillo o de fresas (1.61±0.13 a 2.05±0.3 mg EAG /g) y el mejor almuerzo, ensaladas de remolacha, lechuga, o col/pescado (1.66±0.3 a 2.35±0.1 mg EAG /g), y un plato principal con leguminosas o vegetales mixtos. Los contenidos menores de PF se observaron en platos con pastas y arroz (p