Research in advances in the bioactivity of plant polyphenols

Abstract Plant polyphenols are the secondary metabolites of plants, with a wide variety of types and diverse structures. At present, many phenolic compounds and their derivatives have been isolated and identified from nature. Common plant polyphenolic compounds have a polyhydroxyl structure, most of which are found in the plants seen in daily life, and most of them have poor water solubility. Due to the existence of polyhydroxyl structure, most plant polyphenols have strong biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, regulation of blood glucose and blood lipid, and anti-obesity, which are of great research value and broad application prospects. In addition, plant polyphenols have been widely used in food and have become a trendy research topic. Therefore, in this paper, the classifications of plant polyphenols, current status of their bioactivity research and their application in food were analysed, providing reference value for the research and utilisation of plant polyphenols.