EN
Phenolic compounds wide spread in the plants are characterized by antinutritive and health-related features. Phenolic acids, e.g. gallic acid or caffeic acid, reduce the activity of proteolitic and amylolitic enzymes. Their health-related features resulted from their antioxidazing activity. Phenolic acids bind with the carbohydrates giving hydrolysable tannins. Other tannins, the condensed ones, more wide spread in plants consist of flavonoid monomers. Tannins bind with proteins forming undigestible complexes. Flavonoids show the structural similarities to the female hormone thus they can be responsible for the infertility in animals. On the other hand they are strong antioxidants, they lower the cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in blood, and they can be anticancerogenic. Summing up, the health-related features of phenolics seem to be more important than their antinutritive activity.