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International audience; Organs and tissues of biological systems must control the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) across the human life span. ROS are produced continuously as by-products of normal cell metabolism and also under stress conditions, such as malnutrition, undernutrition, environmental pollutants and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. A fine balance between the levels of cellular ROS and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants is crucial for cell redox homeostasis and organ structural integrity and function. Disturbance of this balance causes oxidative damages of cellular macromolecules, induces mitochondrial defect and ultimately leads to organ dysfunction and increases the risk of development and progression of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Bioactive antioxidant compounds in plant foods can protect biological organs and tissues against ROS-induced oxidative stress, thereby promoting health and preventing or delaying the onset of NCDs. There are at least two possible preventive strategies for health maintenance and disease prevention: avoiding exposure to ROS-generating environmental factors and boosting cellular antioxidant defence capacity. Therefore, both regular intake of plant-based diets rich in antioxidants and healthy lifestyle behaviours can potentially prevent ROS-induced oxidative stress and associated NCDs. Considering the biodiversity and availability of plants worldwide and their beneficial health impacts, this chapter will review why and how plant-based diets and their bioactive antioxidant compounds, in addition to healthy lifestyle behaviours, can provide support for health maintenance and disease prevention.

International audience; The use of phytochemicals for health promotion and disease prevention and treatment has gained increased interest worldwide particularly because of their availability, low cost and minimal side effects. Phytochemicals have a wide range of biological properties such as antioxidative, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory and antiobesogenic. They are believed to reduce oxidative stress in the body and the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The interest in phytotherapy lies in the use of whole or parts of plants, or plant-derived extracts, containing different antioxidants, which function synergistically and in combination with each other to reduce oxidative stress. There is also an increasing tendency to recommend regular intake of plant-based diets to forestall oxidative stress-induced human diseases. Although the primary strategy of disease prevention should focus on health promotion, there are people in many regions all over the world still dying of preventable and curable diet-related and/or lifestyle-related NCDs, which are often associated with undernutrition, malnutrition, unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and exposure to human-made pollutants. Although multiple strategies are needed to ensure and improve a healthy life, such as changes in dietary habits, food production and consumption, and lifestyle behaviours, physicians and many people are unaware of the benefits of good nutrition based on plant antioxidants that could be used in NCD prevention. This is a challenging area of interest that presents important promise for the near future. Last but not least, feeding a growing world population; fighting hunger, undernourishment and malnutrition; preserving the environment and biodiversity; and producing healthy foods that promote health and prevent diseases are the major global challenges we face today.

International audience; An unavoidable consequence of aerobic life is the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage proteins, fatty acids and nucleotides that make up our cells and lead to organ dysfunction and diseases. Aerobic organisms elicit interrelated antioxidant mechanisms to keep ROS at physiological levels and to ensure cellular redox homeostasis and biological processes during the life cycle of organisms, namely, cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, survival and apoptosis. The delicate balance between ROS production and removal by antioxidants during pregnancy is crucial for the foetus to develop and mature into a healthy neonate, whereas early foetal life ROS-induced oxidative stress alters foetal developmental trajectory that could lead to increased risk of noncommunicable chronic diseases during adult life. Stressful events during the intrauterine life, such as undernutrition, malnutrition, unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and exposure to multiple human-made pollutants, adversely affect prenatal development and may contribute to foetal origin of disease in adulthood partly due to oxidative stress. Antioxidants present in most foods of vegetable origin are widely recommended for health promotion and disease prevention. In this chapter, the risk of adverse prenatal development related to antioxidant deficiencies and the importance of dietary antioxidants in the establishment of healthy pregnancy are highlighted. The potential of medicinal plants and plant-based functional foods and beverages with varied and balanced antioxidants, as well as diet quality and healthy dietary habits, as effective means in the prevention of oxidative stress and prenatal developmental disorders is also discussed.