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Beta vulgaris, also known as Beetroot, is a member of a family of Chenopodiaceae and is widely used as a natural food colorant. It gets its distinctive color due to nitrogen-containing water-soluble pigments betalains. Beetroot is an exquisite cradle of nutrients, including proteins, sucrose, carbohydrates, vitamins (B complex and vitamin C), minerals, fiber. They also contain an appreciable amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidants such as coumarins, carotenoids, sesquiterpenoids, triterpenes, flavonoids (astragalin, tiliroside, rhamnocitrin, kaempferol, rhamnetin). Recent studies evidenced that beetroot consumption had favorable physiological benefits, leading to improved cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, hepatic steatosis, liver damage, etc. This review gives insights into developing beetroot as a potential and novel ingredient for versatile food applications and the latest research conducted worldwide. The phytochemical diversity of beetroot makes them potential sources of nutraceutical compounds from which functional foods can be obtained. The article aimed to comprehensively collate some of the vital information published on beetroot incurred in the agri-food sector and a comprehensive review detailing the potentiality of tapping bioactive compounds in the entire agriculture-based food sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irvingia gabonensis, also known as 'bush mango', is a multipurpose fruit tree, native to tropical Africa. It is a priority indigenous fruit tree in western and central Africa since its wood is used for making utensils and fruits are mostly used as food and medicine. The objective of this work is to provide an updated review of the available knowledge about physicochemical characteristics of I. gabonensis fruit in order to evaluate its potential use in the food industry. The fruit mesocarp contains various phytochemicals and ascorbic acid concentration higher than some vitamin C rich fruits, then it is consumed fresh or dried, used to produce juice and wine, or as a flavourant. I. gabonensis fruit kernel is rich in oil (63%–69% crude fat), mainly composed of myristic and lauric acids. Its triacylglycerol composition and, resultantly, melting curve and polymorphism indicate an aptitude for diverse applications, as it is solid at room temperature. Forty-one phenolic compounds were identified in the seeds and derived extracts and supplements, being ellagic acid and its derivates the most present. This review enhances our knowledge about nutritional content and health benefits of I. gabonensis whole fruit, especially its pulp and seed, evidencing the need for safer and more efficient production of value-added products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of liposomes as potential carriers to deliver food components is considerably an innovative technology. While the application of liposome technology has been very limited to date, researches indicating the potential of liposomes for improving the flavor of ripened cheese using accelerated methods, the targeted delivery of functional food ingredients, the synergistic delivery of ascorbic acid and tocopherols for promoting antioxidant activity in foods, and the stabilization of minerals (such as iron) in milk have been performed. In the food industry, liposomes and nanoliposomes have been employed to encapsulate flavoring and nutritive agents, and also, they have been suitable candidates to deliver antimicrobials. In this paper, application of lipase, proteinase, nisin, and flavor-containing liposomes in products during the processing (such as cheese maturity) as well as the application of liposomes-encapsulated micronutrients (such as iron) in milk are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing desires from both consumers and producers to understand better which nutritive components are present in our food and how these are influenced by industrial processing strategies is resulting in extra research involving the use of state-of-the-art technologies to generate novel biochemical information. In this review, attention has been focused on tomato as this is a product eaten right across the world both as fresh produce and after having been processed in a wide variety of ways. There is a particular interest in tomato as it is a major component in the so-called 'Mediterranean diet' which has recently been associated with a healthier lifestyle. Tomatoes are rich sources of a variety of nutritional compounds and especially some key antioxidant components such as the carotenoid lycopene, vitamin C, and a range of polyphenols. The potentially protective properties of these antioxidants are of great interest and the consumer has already become aware of their potential importance. Surveying the literature has revealed that much research has been done on the biochemical composition of tomato and its products. However, it remains difficult to make clear conclusions on optimizing the processing strategy. Many, apparently conflicting, findings have been reported and consequently, in this review, we have drawn attention to these and have attempted to clarify their cause. Finally, a range of recommendations has been made as to how future research might be performed in order to generate more concrete conclusions enabling recommendations towards more optimized processing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors have published about baobab food products. Data on macronutrients, micronutrients, amino acids, and fatty acids were collected from literature for pulp, leaves, seeds, and kernels of the baobab tree. The results show that baobab pulp is particularly rich in vitamin C; consumption of 40 g covers 84 to more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of pregnant women (19-30 years). The leaves are particularly rich in calcium (307 to 2640 mg/100 g dw), and they are known to contain good quality proteins with a chemical score of 0.81. The whole seeds and the kernels have a relatively high lipid content, 11.6 to 33.3 g/100 g dw and 18.9 to 34.7 g/100 g dw, respectively. The pulp and leaves exhibit antioxidant properties with a higher activity in the pulp than in the leaves. Reported nutrient contents of different baobab parts show a large variation, which may have arisen from various factors. Three recommendations are given for future research: 1. More attention should be given to accuracy and precision of analytical methods, 2. Research about digestibility and bioavailability of baobab products is needed, 3. The effect of storage and processing on the nutritional value of baobab products needs to be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed enzymatically, chemically, photochemically, and by irradiation of food. They are also formed by the decomposition and the inter-reactions of ROS. Hydroxy radical is the most reactive ROS, followed by singlet oxygen. Reactions of ROS with food components produce undesirable volatile compounds and carcinogens, destroy essential nutrients, and change the functionalities of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Lipid oxidation by ROS produces low molecular volatile aldehydes, alcohols, and hydrocarbons. ROS causes crosslink or cleavage of proteins and produces low molecular carbonyls from carbohydrates. Vitamins are easily oxidized by ROS, especially singlet oxygen. The singlet oxygen reaction rate was the highest in ss-carotene, followed by tocopherol, riboflavin, vitamin D, and ascorbic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]