Nutritive Value, Polyphenolic Content, and Bioactive Constitution of Green, Red and Flowering Plants

• Other Authors: El-Nakhel, Christophe (Editor), Sabatino, Leo (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Biology, life sciences; chromium; ethnopharmacology; flavonoids; glucose-lowering activity; HPLC; natural antioxidants; polyphenol; air humidity (RH); Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata; controlled environment agriculture (CEA); bioactive compounds; leaf gas exchange; minerals profile; genetic material; protected horticulture; crop sensor; functional components; reflectance spectroscopy; Apiaceae; seeds; antioxidants; potassium; total dissolved solids; protein; growing season; Cichorium endivia L. var. crispum Hegi; yield; sugars; mineral profile; iodine concentration; functional compounds; space-stored seeds; Solanum lycopersicum L.; weightlessness; cosmic radiation; macronutrients; Spinacia oleracea L.; carotenoids; nitrates; phenolic acids; UHPLC-HRMS; chlorophylls; vitamin C; trans-resveratrol; esters; terpenols; glycosidic precursors; harvest time; Vitis vinifera; tomato and carrot by-products; freezing and drying impact; antioxidant capacity; polyphenolics; vitamin E; greenhouse clear film; greenhouse diffuse-light film; spinach yield; nitrate content; antioxidant activity; ascorbic acid; floating raft system; biostimulant; root application; anthocyanins; phenols; reduced sugars; carbohydrates; minerals; pigments; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Plants, including vegetables, are an essential element of the human diet, considering their dense nutritional content and bioactive content that could assist in boosting nutritional quality and food security. Plants are exhibiting a colossal rebound in the context of healthier lifestyles, especially as functional foods empowered with bioactive phytochemicals; they synthesize uncountable "ecochemicals" via secondary metabolism, which command medical and socioeconomic significance. Among these secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds are of prime interest and are largely present in medicinal plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers. These metabolites are at the helm of the bitterness, color, and scent of plants, and are correlated to the beneficial health qualities expressed by the antioxidant capacity. The accretion of these health-promoting phytochemicals depends chiefly on the genetic material and the maturity stage at harvest, notwithstanding the main role that is played by preharvest factors, i.e., eustress, fertilization, irrigation, light, biostimulants, biofortification, and other agronomic practices. This Special Issue is a collection of 11 original research articles addressing the quality of seeds, microgreens, leafy vegetables, herbs, flowers, berries, fruits, and byproducts. Mainly preharvest factors were assessed regarding their effect on the qualitative aspects of the aforementioned plants.