Feijoada whole meal shows higher in vitro antioxidant activity than combination of individual ingredients

•The in vitro and cellular antioxidant activity of a whole meal was evaluated.•Grains and legumes were the main providers of bound phenolics.•Whole meal had higher in vitro antioxidant activity than combined ingredients.•Whole meals should be considered when evaluating health benefits of the diet.

Beneficial health effects of polyphenols depend on their daily consumption which may reflect the dietary pattern of a population. In this way, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro and cellular antioxidant activity of Feijoada whole meal compared to its individual ingredients. Kale was the ingredient with the highest total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant activity. Black beans and rice were the main sources of bound phenolics, accounting for approximately 50% of the total phenolic content in each one. Black beans were also the main providers of phenolics in the feijoada whole meal. Dose dependent effect was observed for black beans, kale, and orange when cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) was measured, being orange the ingredient with the lowest EC50 value. Antiproliferative activity using HepG2 cells was only observed for the orange and kale extracts at 60 mg/ml. Feijoada whole meal extract and the combination of individual ingredients had no effect in this cancer cell line compared to the control. The interaction among ingredients composing a meal as for whole meals itself should be used more often as an approach to understand the relationship between dietary pattern and health benefits.