Fruit and Vegetable Phytochemicals: Chemistry, Nutritional Value and Stability

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.   

Spis treści:
1. The Contribution of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Human Health (Elhadi M. Yahia).
2. Phenolic Compounds: Chemistry and Occurrence in Fruits and Vegetables (Cristina Andres–Lacueva, Alex Medina–Remon, Rafael Llorach, Mireia Urpi–Sarda, Nasiruddin Khan, Gemma Chiva–Blanch, Raul Zamora–Ros, Maria Rotches and Rosa M. Lamuela–Rav entos).
3. Synthesis and Metabolism of Phenolic Compounds (Mikal E. Saltveit).
4. Enzymatic and Non–Enzymatic Degradation of Polyphenols (José Manuel López–Nicolás and Francisco García–Carmona).
5. Chemistry of Flavonoids (Rong Tsao and Jason McCallum).
6. Flavonoids and their Relation to Human Health (Alma E. Robles–Sardin, Adriana Verónica Bolaños–Villar, Gustavo A. González Aguilar and Laura A. de la Rosa).
7. Chemistry, Stability and Biological Actions of Carotenoids (Elhadi M. Yahia and José de Jesús Ornelas–Paz).
8. Dietary Fiber and Associated Antioxidants in Fruit And Vegetables (Fulgencio Saura–Calixto, Jara Pérez–Jiménez and Isabel Goñi).
9. Emerging Technologies Used for the Extraction of Phytochemicals from Fruits, Vegetables and Other Natural Sources (Marleny D. A. Saldaña, Felix M. C. Gamarra and Rodrigo M. P. Siloto).
10. Methods of Analysis of Antioxidant Capacity of Phytochemicals (Nuria Grigelmo–Miguel, Mª Alejandra Rojas–Graü, Robert Soliva–Fortuny and Olga Martín–Belloso).
11. Phytochemical Changes in the Postharvest and Minimal Processing of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Gustavo A. González–Aguilar, J. Fernando Ayala–Zavala, Laura A. de la Rosa and Emilio Alvarez–Parrilla).
12. Quality Loss of Fruits and Vegetables Induced by Microbial Growth (Saul Ruiz Cruz and Sofia Arvizu–Medrano).

Nota biograficzna:
Laura A. de la Rosa, PhD, is professor in the Chemistry Program of the Department of Basic Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, México.
Emilio Alvarez–Parrilla, PhD, is professor in the Chemistry Program of the Department of Basic Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, México.
Gustavo A. González̵ 1;Aguilar, PhD, is   full–time researcher at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Hermosillo, Sonora, México.

Okładka tylna:
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.