Plant Food Phytochemicals and Bioactive Compounds in Nutrition and Health

Phytochemicals are receiving increasing attention due to their observed nutritional and health-promoting effects in numerous food applications. As plant secondary metabolites with bioactive properties, they may provide desirable health benefits beyond basic nutrition to reduce chronic disease conditions. Their importance in nutrition and health cannot be overstated as it has generated so much interest and studies focused on elucidating their roles has produced so many outstanding results. Plant phytochemicals are readily used in alternative medicine in South East Asia especially, in China and India and they are becoming widely acceptable worldwide. However, very little is still known about the phytochemicals despite these intense research efforts because of their diverse biological and chemical nature.

In this newest addition to the series, Nutraceuticals: Basic Research and Clinical Applications, Plant Food Phytochemicals and Bioactive Compounds in Nutrition and Health provides a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge in the field of bioactive plant phytochemical compounds, their food sources, bioactivities, bioavailability, extraction, production, and applications. Experts in the field discuss various bioactivities of the notable and promising plant phytochemicals of significance in nutrition and health, e.g., lowering of CVD, hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, cancer, oxidative stress, neurodegenerative diseases and a host of other chronic disease conditions.

Key Features:

• Describes the various nutritional and bioactive significances of notable and promising plant phytochemicals of significance in nutritional and medical research and their food and/or plant sources
• Includes various approaches for the quantification, extraction and production of the notable and promising phytochemical compounds in nutrition and health
• Examines the challenges and promises of plant phytochemical as ingredients for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals as well as their use in alternative medicine
• Discusses regulatory issues regarding plant phytochemicals, especially as it pertains to their health claims and use