There has been increasing interest in the nutritional properties of fruits and vegetables as sources of health-promoting phytochemical compounds. Epidemiological data correlate a high consumption of these compounds with a lower risk of several cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. Phytochemicals are a heterogeneous group of chemical compounds with numerous biological actions.
Fruit and Vegetable Phytochemicals: Chemistry, Nutritional Value and Stability provides scientists in the areas of food technology and nutrition with accessible and up-to-date information about the chemical nature, classification and analysis of the main phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables – polyphenols and carotenoids. Special care is taken to analyze the health benefits of these compounds, their interaction with fiber, antioxidant and other biological activities, as well as the degradation processes that occur after harvest and minimal processing.
The book commences with a review of the beneficial effects of whole fruits and vegetables. The following chapters describe chemical and biochemical aspects of different phytochemical groups commonly found in fruits and vegetables, including polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and dietary fiber. Coverage also includes the analytical aspects of phytochemicals extraction and determination of antioxidant capacity. Fruit and Vegetable Phytochemicals concludes with chapters focusing on the effects of harvest and minimal processing technologies on the degradation of phytochemicals.
