Antioxidants and Bioactive Compounds in Fruits - Fruit Ripening: Physiology, Signalling and Genomics - page 99

7

Antioxidants and Bioactive Compounds
in Fruits

Angelos K. Kanellis 1 * and George A. Manganaris 2
1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2 Department of Agricultural
Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of
Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus

However, one should keep in mind that
dietary factors act in synergy and thus the
complex mixture of nutrients and chemo-
preventive agents present in horticultural
crops renders it impossible to identify a
single 'miracle' nutrient for protection from
diseases. Current evidence suggests that
this 'natural' mix is more important than
any one single nutrient that can be added
to the diet in the form of a supplement.
This dietary complexity has been linked
with certain dietary habits such as the
Mediterranean diet.
Specifi c phytochemicals may also affect
fruit colour and taste, both desirable quality
attributes. Health-conscious consumers now
demand fruits with improved nutritional
value, making development of rapid
methods for the determination of phyto-
chemical profi les a necessary tool for
producers. Fruit ripening is a result of a
complex network of biological processes yet
to be fully elucidated, and hence quality
traits are not usually subjected to modelling
(Struik et al. , 2005; Genard et al. , 2007).
Fruit ripening, among other events, results
in enhanced accumulation of reactive
oxygen species (ROS) (Giovannoni, 2004),

7.1 Introduction

Quality is determined based mainly on
external appearance, background colour
and fruit size, whilst fl avour, taste and
aroma perception occur during or follow-
ing consumption (Struik et al. , 2005).
Fruits are also considered to be benefi cial
sources of antioxidant potency due to their
phytochemical properties. Numerous bio-
active compounds are theorized to have a
role in preventing or ameliorating various
chronic human diseases such as cancer,
coronary vascular disease, Alzheimer's
disease and diabetes. Metabolic pathways
are not completely understood and as-yet-
undefi ned non-antioxidant mechanisms
may be responsible. Nevertheless, the
consumer cannot perceive such attributes.
Indisputably, however, plants have formed
the basis of the human diet since the
existence of human kind, a fact that led
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician,
to say 'let food be your medicine and
medicine be your food'. Today, consumers'
belief in the health benefi ts of selected
foods and their components appears to be
increasing at an unprecedented pace.