Improving the Health-Promoting Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products
edited by
F. A. Tomás-Barberán

Improving the Health-Promoting Properties of Fruit and Vegetable Products brings together up-to-date information on the health-promoting properties of fruit and vegetables.

Part One provides an overview of fruit and vegetable bioactives and consumer attitudes towards fruit and vegetables.

Part Two discusses the health effects of fruit and vegetables in relation to specific diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases.

The focus in Part Three is on understanding fruit and vegetable phytochemicals. Chapters cover physiological and ecological functions and biosynthesis of health-promoting compounds in fruit and vegetables, rapid analysis of phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables and clinical evidence for biological activity of fruit and vegetable phytochemicals.

Part Four covers the effect of pre- and post-harvest technologies on the health-promoting properties of fruit and vegetables.

Part Five looks at the nutritional quality of particular fruit and vegetable products, such as fresh-cut fruit and vegetables and organic fruit and vegetables.

Contents

Part One: Introductory Issues

Overview of health-promoting compounds in fruits and vegetables

• Introduction: fruits, vegetables and health
• Phytochemicals or health promoting compounds in fruit and vegetables
• Terpenoids
• Phenolic and polyphenolic compounds
• Alkaloids
• Sulphur-containing compounds
• Implications for human health
• Changes in levels of health-promoting compounds in fruits and vegetables

Consumer attitudes towards fruit and vegetables

• Fruit and vegetables belong to a healthy diet
• Learning to like fruit and vegetables
• Factors influencing our FAV consumption
• Social environment
• Fruit and vegetable-based foods as carrier products for health claims

Marketing healthy fruit

• A bright future for fruit
• Five success factors
• Case studies
• Case Study 1: Cranberries
• Case Study 2: Pomegranates
• Case Study 3: Blueberries
• Case study 4: Apples

Part Two: The Health Effects of Fruit and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables and cancer

• Overview of epidemiological studies of fruit and vegetables and cancer
• Overview of randomised chemopreventive studies with dietary supplementation of vitamins and minerals or fibre

Fruits and vegetables, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity

• Fruit and vegetables: observational and intervention trials
• The role of fruit and vegetables components

Epidemiologic evidence for the effect of fruits and vegetables on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity

• Issues related to analysis of fruit and vegetable intake in human populations
• Overview of different aspects of fruits and vegetables, biologic compounds, and potential mechanisms of action
• Epidemiologic evidence on the protective effect of fruits and vegetables

Beneficial effects of phenolic compounds from fruits and vegetables in neurodegenerative diseases

• Oxidative stress and aging brain
• Oxidative stress and neurodegenerative diseases
• Role of NF-kB, Sirtuins and MAP kinases in neuroprotection
• Polyphenols from fruits and vegetables
• Bioavailability and metabolism of Polyphenols
• Challenges for research on polyphenols in neurodegenerative diseases

Fruits and vegetables (FAV), energy balance, and weight management

• The relationship between fruits and vegetables consumption, energy balance, and body weight: epidemiologic and clinical evidence
• Role of fruits and vegetables in energy balance and weight management: mechanisms of action
• Future trends for the study of fruits and vegetables as part of dietary management for the prevention and treatment of obesity

Part Three: Understanding Fruit and Vegetable Phytochemicals

Physiological and ecological functions and biosynthesis of health-promoting compounds in fruit and vegetables

• Glucosinolates
• Carotenoids
• Polyphenols
• Capsaicins of chili pepper
• Organo sulfur compounds

Rapid analysis of phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables

• Analysis of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables

Clinical evidence for biological activity of fruit and vegetable phytochemicals

• The current status of clinical evidence
• Other types of clinical intervention
• Making clinical trials more effective

Part Four: Effect of Pre- and Post-Harvest Technologies on the Health-Promoting Porperties of Fruit and Vegetables

Traditional breeding to enhance the phytonutrient content of fruit and vegetables

• Phytochemicals and Health: a short review
• Genetic and breeding strategies for improving plant cultivars
• Variation of phytochemical content within fruit types
• Towards fruit cultivars with improved nutrition qualities
• The future of fruit and vegetable cultivars with improved nutritional qualities

Genetic manipulation of vegetable crops to alleviate diet-related diseases

• Diet and human diseases
• The need for genetic engineering to enhance nutritional quality for human health
• Creating vegetables with improved nutritional value by genetic manipulation
• Safety issues and consumer attitude to genetically modified vegetables

Agronomy and the nutritional quality of fruit

• The current status of agronomy and the nutritional quality of fruit
• Environmental factors affecting nutritional quality of fruit
• Controlling agronomy to improve the nutritional value of fruit
• Maturity at harvest
• Mechanical injuries, microorganisms and pesticides
• Modelling quality

Agronomy and the nutritional quality of vegetables

• Nutrient management
• Irrigation management
• Environmental effects and maturity stages
• Location effects

Storage and handling of fruits and vegetables for optimal health-related quality

• Storage and handling procedures influencing the health-related quality of fruits and vegetables
• Health-related properties of fruit and vegetables as influenced by storage and handling

Postharvest enhancement of bioactive compounds in fresh produce using abiotic stresses

• Phytoalexins and phytoanticipins
• Factors affecting the phytochemical content of fruits and vegetables
• Health promoting activity of inducible phytochemicals
• Postharvest treatments to increase the phytochemical content of fruits and vegetables
• Undesirable effects of stress-inducible phytochemicals

Processing techniques and their effect on fruit and vegetable phytochemicals

• Consumption of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables
• Importance of food composition databases for dietary recommendations
• Effects of compound solubility, cellular and structural localization on phytochemical losses
• Effects of processing unit operations on phytochemical losses
• Thermal and non-thermal processing techniques influencing phytochemical content of fruit and vegetables
• Packaging and storage effects on processed carotenoids and flavonoids

Part Five: The Nutritional Quality of Particular Fruit and Vegetable products

Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables

• Consequences of cutting-induced changes in major classes of health promoting constituents
• Unit operations affecting the quality of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables
• Pre and post-cutting treatments affecting the health-promoting constituents of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables
• Consequences of cutting on the health-promoting constituents on specific fresh-cut fruits - Consequences of cutting on the health-promoting constituents on specific fresh-cut vegetables

Organic fruit and Vegetables

• What is an organic food?
• Organic and conventional production systems
• Pesticide residues
• The nutritional value of organically and conventionally produced foods
• Agronomic factors that influence the phytochemical composition of fruits and vegetables
• A review (2000-2006) of the influence of cultivation practices on phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables

Extraction and concentration techniques for bioactives from fruit and vegetables

• New solvents
• Membrane technologies
• Microwave technologies

Index

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