Table 1.

Summary of pharmacokinetic characteristics of some of the dietary phytochemicals

Phytochemical	Bioavailability	Half-life (t1/2)	Major Metabolism Sites	Major Metabolites	Tissue Distribution	Formulations Available	Formulation PK Parameters	References
Curcumin	Low (< 1–3%)	3.36 h	Liver, Intestine	Dihydrocurcumin, Tetrahydrocurcumin	Liver, Kidney, Brain	Micellar, Nanoparticles	Novasol®: 185 × increase in bioavailability	[120–123]
Sulforaphane	Moderate	7.6 h	Liver	Sulforaphane-cysteine, Sulforaphane-NAC	Gastrointestinal tract, Liver	Broccoli sprout extract	Fresh sprouts: Cmax 1.9 µM, Tmax 3 h	[124–126]
Ursolic Acid	Low (~ 8%)	4.00–4.58 h	Liver, Intestine	Ursolic acid-glucuronide	Liver, Kidney	Liposomes	Intravenous: Vd 2.27 L/kg	[127–129]
Cyanidin	Very low (< 2%)	Variable (short)	Liver, Intestine	Anthocyanin metabolites	Gastrointestinal tract, Liver	Juice concentrate	High-dose juice: Cmax 19.0 ng/mL, AUC 51.1 ng*h/mL	[130–132]
Resveratrol	Low (< 1%)	1.6 h	Liver, Intestine	Glucuronide, Sulfate conjugates	Liver, Brain	Nanoparticles	Oral: Cmax < 2 µM, t1/2 1.6 h	[122, 133, 134]
EGCG	Low (~ 1.6%)	1.5–4 h	Liver, Intestine	EGCG metabolites	Liver, Colon	Green tea extract	Oral: 0.1–1.6% bioavailability	[135–137]
Genistein	Low (~ 6.8%)	46 h	Liver, Intestine	Genistein-glucuronide, sulfate	Liver, Reproductive tissues	Soy-based supplements	Oral: Cmax 0.79 µg/g	[138–140]