Changes in lifestyle and demographics shifted preferences about the relationships between food and health, contributing to generate new needs in the food supply. Today, the role of food is not only intended as hunger satisfaction and nutrient supply, but also as an opportunity to prevent nutrition-related diseases and improve physical and mental well-being. There is a growing interest in the novel or less well known plant foods that offer an opportunity for health maintenance. This book shows that an interest in plant foods and underutilized fruits is continuously growing, and agrobiodiversity exploitation offers effective and extraordinary potentialities. Readers will discover that plant foods could become an important source of health-promoting compounds and functional food ingredients with beneficial properties. The description of the quality and physicochemical traits, the identification and quantification of the main biologically active compounds, and the evaluation of their biological activities are important to assess plant food efficacy as functional foods or a source of food supplement ingredients for the consumers.

Changes in lifestyle and demographics shifted preferences about the relationships between food and health, contributing to generate new needs in the food supply. Today, the role of food is not only intended as hunger satisfaction and nutrient supply, but also as an opportunity to prevent nutrition-related diseases and improve physical and mental well-being. There is a growing interest in the novel or less well known plant foods that offer an opportunity for health maintenance. This book shows that an interest in plant foods and underutilized fruits is continuously growing, and agrobiodiversity exploitation offers effective and extraordinary potentialities. Readers will discover that plant foods could become an important source of health-promoting compounds and functional food ingredients with beneficial properties. The description of the quality and physicochemical traits, the identification and quantification of the main biologically active compounds, and the evaluation of their biological activities are important to assess plant food efficacy as functional foods or a source of food supplement ingredients for the consumers.

Functional Food Ingredients from Plants, Volume 90, the latest release in the Advances in Food and Nutrition Research series, provides updated knowledge about nutrients in foods and how to avoid their deficiency, especially for those essential nutrients that should be present in the diet to reduce disease risk and optimize health. Updates to this release include sections on Natural antioxidants of plant origin, Dietary fiber sources, The impact of molecular interactions with phenolic compounds on food polysaccharides functionality, Plant phenolics as functional ingredients, Pigments and vitamins from plants as functional ingredients, Glucosinolates fate from plants to consumer, and more. - Contains contributions that have been carefully selected based on their vast experience and expertise on the subject - Includes updated, in-depth, and critical discussions of available information, giving the reader a unique opportunity to learn - Encompasses a broad view of the topics at hand

It is now well accepted that the consumption of plant-based foods is beneficial to human health. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and derived products can be excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, and fiber and usually have a favorable nutrient-to-energy ratio. Furthermore, plant foods are also a rich source of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, carotenoids, and betalains, with potential health benefits for humans. Many epidemiological studies have made a direct link between the consumption of plant foods and health. Human intervention studies have also shown that higher intake/consumption of plant foods can reduce the incidence of metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases, especially in at-risk populations such as obese people. In addition to its health benefits, plant foods are also used as functional ingredients in food applications such as antioxidants, antimicrobials, and natural colorants. The Special Issue “Foods of Plant Origin” covers biodiscovery, functionality, the effect of different cooking/preparation methods on bioactive (plant food) ingredients, and strategies to improve the nutritional quality of plant foods by adding other food components using novel/alternative food sources or applying non-conventional preparation techniques.

Functional foods are foods which contain bioactive components, either from plant or animal sources, which can have health benefits for the consumer over and above their nutritional value. Foods which have antioxidant or cancer-combating components are in high demand from health conscious consumers: much has been made of the health-giving qualities of fruits and vegetables in particular. Conversely, foods which have been processed are suffering an image crisis, with many consumers indiscriminately assuming that any kind of processing robs food of its “natural goodness”. To date, there has been little examination of the actual effects – whether positive or negative – of various types of food processing upon functional foods. This book highlights the effects of food processing on the active ingredients of a wide range of functional food materials, with a particular focus on foods of Asian origin. Asian foods, particularly herbs, are becoming increasingly accepted and demanded globally, with many Western consumers starting to recognize and seek out their health-giving properties. This book focuses on the extraction of ingredients which from materials which in the West are seen as “alternative” - such as flour from soybeans instead of wheat, or bran and starch from rice – but which have long histories in Asian cultures. It also highlight the incorporation of those bioactive compounds in foods and the enhancement of their bioavailability. Functional Foods and Dietary Supplements: Processing Effects and Health Benefits will be required reading for those working in companies, research institutions and universities that are active in the areas of food processing and agri-food environment. Food scientists and engineers will value the new data and research findings contained in the book, while environmentalists, food regulatory agencies and other food industry personnel involved in functional food production or development will find it a very useful source of information.

Plant-Based Functional Foods and Phytochemicals: From Traditional Knowledge to Present Innovation covers the importance of the therapeutic health benefits of phytochemicals derived from plants. It discusses the isolation of potential bioactive molecules from plant sources along with their value to human health. It focuses on physical characteristics, uniqueness, uses, distribution, traditional and nutritional importance, bioactivities, and future trends of different plant-based foods and food products. Functional foods, beyond providing basic nutrition, may offer a potentially positive effect on health and cures for various disease conditions, such as metabolic disorders (including diabetes), cancer, and chronic inflammatory reactions. The volume looks at these natural products and their bioactive compounds that are increasingly utilized in preventive and therapeutic medications and in the production of pharmaceutical supplements and as food additives to increase functionality. It also describes the concept of extraction of bioactive molecules from plant sources, both conventional and modern extraction techniques, available sources, biochemistry, structural composition, and potential biological activities.