Horticultural Crops: Potential for Developing Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals
摘要
All over the world, changes in eating habits and lifestyle can lead to complications affecting human health. By including foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition play significant role in minimizing the risk of certain diseases, enhancing immunocompetence, and improving overall health and well-being. Functional foods and nutraceuticals are foods that have positive physiological effects on the human body. It includes different kinds of products such as dietary supplements, functional beverages, herbal extracts/proteins/minerals/vitamin supplemented products, and other processed products. Horticultural crops including vegetables, fruits, nuts, and spices are reported to be good source of bioactive phytochemicals make them as functional foods and source of nutraceuticals. They are found to be loaded with bioactive phytochemicals such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, terpenoids, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with proven health benefits. This chapter discusses benefits of phytochemicals present in the horticultural crops beneficial for healthy life.