Research Progress of the Functional Properties of Fruit and Vegetables and Their Preserves

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 10596

Special Issue Editors

Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska Str. 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: functional food; food design; bioactive compounds; fruits; drying methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska Str. 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: bioactive compounds; antioxidant properties; new analytical methods
Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska Str. 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: functional food; food design; bioactive compounds; convenience food

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruits, vegetables, and their products are prized for their sensory values, and they play a very important role in our diet. They provide nutrients, bioactivity, and serve a number of pro-health and dietary functions while forming the basis of daily nutrition for vegetarians and vegans. A significant portion of fruits and vegetables, especially those included among the so-called "super foods", can also be classified as functional foods because, in addition to providing nutrients, they have a health-promoting effect. The high level of biologically active compounds present in fruits and vegetables and their products can protect the human body against free radicals, eliminating the effects of oxidative stress, as well as being able to diminish non-infected chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes type II, and obesity.

A significant proportion of fruits, vegetables and their products are characterized by a high water activity, which results in their low shelf life and requires the use of a number of methods that show a different effect on their technological properties, nutritional value, content of bioactive compounds and sensory features. The use of modern preservation methods, including minimal processing methods, enables the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables to be extended while maintaining a high level of freshness, which is of increasing interest among both food producers and consumers.

Taking all of the above into account, in this Special Issue, all reviews and research articles on the functional properties of fruit and vegetables and their products will be appreciated.

Dr. Anna Sadowska
Dr. Katarzyna Najman
Prof. Dr. Franciszek Świderski
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • fruits
  • vegetables
  • functional food
  • bioactive properties
  • preserved methods

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3585 KiB  
Article
Effects of Different Osmotic Pre-Treatments on the Drying Characteristics, Modeling and Physicochemical Properties of Momordica charantia L. Slices
by Tugce Ozsan Kilic, Ismail Boyar, Cuneyt Dincer, Can Ertekin and Ahmet Naci Onus
Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13101887 - 27 Sep 2023
Viewed by 711
Abstract
A significant vegetable in the Cucurbitaceae family, the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is widely recognized for its beneficial health properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antiviral activities. With a total of three Brix values (50, 60, and 70) and three different [...] Read more.
A significant vegetable in the Cucurbitaceae family, the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is widely recognized for its beneficial health properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antiviral activities. With a total of three Brix values (50, 60, and 70) and three different dipping times (10, 20, and 30 h), the goal of the current study was to identify the proper sugar and grape molasses solutions (pekmez) and dipping times for osmotic pre-treatments of bitter gourd samples to make it sweet and widely consumed. In the present study, mathematical modeling of drying processes, moisture content and water activity, total color changes, total phenolic content-antioxidant activity, and carotenoid contents were assessed. As a result of 13 different mathematical modeling tests, “Diffusion Approach”, “Logarithmic” and “Midilli et al.” models were the best models, giving the highest R2 and lowest X2-RMSE values. There were samples that were dipped at 50 °Brix grape molasses, which decreased below the 10% wet basis (w.b.) limit in the shortest time with 180 min, in a 10 h dipping time. The samples were dipped in 60 °Brix sugar, which fell below the same limit in the shortest time with 135 and 165 min, respectively, at 20 and 30 h dipping times. The highest total phenolic and carotenoid contents were found in 30 h dipping time in 60 °Brix grape molasses with 8296.87 mg/kg and 10 h dipping time in 50 °Brix sugar solutions with 89.22 mg/kg, respectively. While the phenolic content was higher in all samples dipped in grape molasses, the carotenoid content was higher in all samples dipped in sugar, which was one of the most important results of the study. Full article
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16 pages, 2566 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Hot Air Dried Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.) Product Quality: Optimization of Drying and Blanching Process by Experimental Design
by Tugce Ozsan Kilic, Ismail Boyar, Keziban Kubra Gungor, Mehmet Torun, Nuriye Altınay Perendeci, Can Ertekin and Ahmet Naci Onus
Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1849; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091849 - 21 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1542
Abstract
Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is a plant species belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, growing in tropical regions and containing health-promoting beneficial compounds. In the current study, bitter gourds prepared for drying were sliced in three different thicknesses (6, 8 and 10 [...] Read more.
Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is a plant species belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, growing in tropical regions and containing health-promoting beneficial compounds. In the current study, bitter gourds prepared for drying were sliced in three different thicknesses (6, 8 and 10 mm) and dried in a hot-air dryer at three different temperatures (60, 70 and 80 °C) to preserve their medicinal efficacy. In the experiments, the samples were subjected to blanching at 93.5 °C and 2% salt water for 0, 2.5 and 5 min, and drying processes were conducted. After the drying process, drying time, total color change (∆E), total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant activity (TAA), and vitamin C properties were examined. The highest levels of TPC and TAA were found at lower drying air temperatures (DATs), and while these values increased with longer blanching times at lower DATs, they decreased with longer blanching times at higher DATs. According to the different drying temperatures used, it was discovered that the total color change peaked at 70 °C and that vitamin C levels declined as DAT rose. The optimal drying conditions for the 3D response surface methodology include 60 °C DAT, a slice thickness of 10 mm, and without blanching to maximize TPC, TAA and vitamin C content and minimize drying time and ∆E. Full article
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17 pages, 321 KiB  
Article
Physicochemical Properties and Evaluation of Antioxidant Potential of Sugar Beet Pulp—Preliminary Analysis for Further Use (Future Prospects)
by Andrzej Baryga, Rafał Ziobro, Dorota Gumul, Justyna Rosicka-Kaczmarek and Karolina Miśkiewicz
Agriculture 2023, 13(5), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13051039 - 11 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1726
Abstract
High content of pro-health constituents in fruit and vegetable pomaces has led to their utilization as raw materials in food production. They are used mostly in dried form, which is microbiologically stable and allows their storage throughout a longer period. Nevertheless, some materials [...] Read more.
High content of pro-health constituents in fruit and vegetable pomaces has led to their utilization as raw materials in food production. They are used mostly in dried form, which is microbiologically stable and allows their storage throughout a longer period. Nevertheless, some materials of these kind are still undervalued, among them sugar beet pulp, which is produced during sugar production in large quantities, often posing an environmental threat, and has been traditionally used for feeding animals. Earlier studies on chemical composition suggested that sugar beet pulp could be highly valuable in terms of health-promoting aspects. Therefore, in this work, research was directed to prove the nutritional potential of this raw material. Thus, an attempt was made to characterize sugar beet pulp in terms of its nutritional and carbohydrate profile, as well as its health-promoting qualities, with particular emphasis on the effect of the extraction on the content of polyphenols and phenolic acids, flavonoids, flavonols, and also their antioxidant activity, measured by ABTS and FRAP methods. The soluble and insoluble fraction of dietary fiber and total dietary fiber were also determined in the pulp. It was found that sugar beet pulp is a valuable source of nutrients (around 10% protein, 7% fat, 8% sugar, 4% ash), dietary fiber (nearly 70%), and has significant amounts of sugars present as free saccharides (fructose and glucose) and polysaccharide residues (arabinose, galacturonic acid, rhamnose, and glucose). In addition, it is a source of polyphenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids and has a high health-promoting potential regardless of the applied extraction method. Therefore, we may suggest that sugar beet pulp could become an ingredient for pro-health functional food. Full article
13 pages, 606 KiB  
Article
Peel to Flesh Bioactive Compounds Ratio Affect Apple Antioxidant Potential and Cultivar Functional Properties
by Monika Sawicka, Piotr Latocha and Barbara Łata
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 478; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020478 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1466
Abstract
More than ten thousand apple cultivars with high variability in the quality traits and year-round availability place apples at the forefront of consumed fruits. Yet consumers and producers alike are still looking for new apple cultivars with specific quality attributes such as plant [...] Read more.
More than ten thousand apple cultivars with high variability in the quality traits and year-round availability place apples at the forefront of consumed fruits. Yet consumers and producers alike are still looking for new apple cultivars with specific quality attributes such as plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses as well as a high health-promoting potential. The model plants were three cultivars: a new ‘Chopin’ and an old ‘Granny Smith’, scab resistant cultivars with green peel, and a red-skinned cultivar ‘Gala Schniga’. Apple peel and flesh were analyzed separately during two growing seasons: 2016 and 2017. The total ascorbate and phenolics as well as individual phenolic compounds, such as (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, phloridzin, and rutin concentrations, proved to be highly tissue-type and cultivar dependent. The apple of the ‘Chopin’ and ‘Granny Smith’ cultivars expressed much lower skin-to-flesh antioxidant potential differences as compared to ‘Gala Schniga’. The lowest differences between tissue types were observed in the case of chlorogenic acid and flavan-3-ols, followed by total phenolics and ascorbate concentrations. Except for phloridzin, ‘Gala Schniga’ exhibited the highest differences in global and individual phenolic compound concentrations as well as total antioxidant capacity between the apple peel and flesh. ‘Chopin’ was definitely distinguished by the highest concentration of ascorbate in both the peel and the flesh and expressed a higher concentration of flavanols, especially compared to ‘Granny Smith’. In contrast to ‘Gala Schniga’, ‘Chopin’ was richer in chlorogenic acid, (+)-catechin, and (−)-epicatechin in the flesh. The total antioxidant capacity of the green-peel apple cultivars was similar to that of the red-peel one. A narrower range of differences between the concentration of antioxidants in apple peel and flesh could mean better health-promoting properties and might be related to a greater resistance to environmental stress factors. Full article
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13 pages, 2645 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition, Physicochemical and Bioactive Properties of Avocado (Persea americana) Seed and Its Potential Use in Functional Food Design
by Marta Siol and Anna Sadowska
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020316 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4327
Abstract
The appropriate use of avocado seed waste after industrial processing could reduce the problem of overconsumption and food waste in accordance with the “zero waste” concept. The presented study evaluates the physicochemical and bioactive properties of avocado seed and its possible use in [...] Read more.
The appropriate use of avocado seed waste after industrial processing could reduce the problem of overconsumption and food waste in accordance with the “zero waste” concept. The presented study evaluates the physicochemical and bioactive properties of avocado seed and its possible use in functional food design, for example, cereal snacks in the form of cookies. The profile of polyphenol and lutein content was determined by chromatographic methodology, and the phenolic compounds content and antioxidant properties of the avocado seed powder were determined using spectrophotometric methods. The chemical composition (content of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fat) and physicochemical properties, i.e., water activity, water holding capacity, and solubility in water of avocado seed powder, were examined. According to the fiber content (21.6 g/100 g) and bioactive compounds present in the avocado seed powder (content of phenolic 62.1 mg GAE/1 g, antioxidant potential (122.4 mmol Trolox/100 g), and low solubility in water (16.2%), it could be considered a valuable additive to cereal snacks. Our designed cereal products with various amounts of added avocado seed powder (6%, 12%, and 18%) showed that 6% added powder promoted an almost five-fold increase in the polyphenol content and four-fold higher antioxidant potential of the snacks compared to the control samples. In addition, the lowest level addition of avocado seed powder increased the dietary fiber content of the product to 4%; hence, they adhered to the nutrition claim of “source of fiber” in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006. Full article
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