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Antioxidant Systems in Fruits and Vegetables Related to Quality and Health Beneficial Effects

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 26974

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruits and vegetables are known to contain large amounts of bioactive compounds (polyphenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids and vitamins) which have antioxidant activity and are related to health-benefits. This special issue will be focused to highlight the molecular mechanism involved in the occurrence of these phytochemicals and their changes during ripening on-tree and during postharvest storage. In addition, recent research focused on the use of non-toxic natural compounds, considered as environmentally friendly, to develop new postharvest treatments and preservation systems that will maintain the quality and extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables without compromising their safety, appearance or sensory properties, and preserving the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity will be also included. On the other hand, the effects of pre-harvests treatments with natural compounds on increasing the concentration of these biocompounds during the on-tree ripening process will be reported in order to increase the health beneficial effects of fruits and vegetable consumption. Finally, cohort and epidemiological studies reporting the fruit and vegetable consumption effects against degenerative and chronic diseases would be also welcomed.

Prof. María Serrano
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • dietary intake
  • human health
  • cancer
  • disease
  • inflammation
  • apoptosis
  • antioxidant systems
  • ripening
  • postharvest technology
  • fruit quality

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 708 KiB  
Article
Genetic Analysis for Fruit Phenolics Content, Flesh Color, and Browning Related Traits in Eggplant (Solanum melongena)
by Prashant Kaushik
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(12), 2990; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20122990 - 19 Jun 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3916
Abstract
Eggplant varieties rich in bioactive chlorogenic acid along with less browning are preferred by consumers. Therefore, genetics of fruit phenolics, fruit flesh colour, and browning related traits were studied in the genotypes of eggplant, comprising of nine cultivated varieties and one accession of [...] Read more.
Eggplant varieties rich in bioactive chlorogenic acid along with less browning are preferred by consumers. Therefore, genetics of fruit phenolics, fruit flesh colour, and browning related traits were studied in the genotypes of eggplant, comprising of nine cultivated varieties and one accession of eggplant‘s primary genepool wild relative Solanum insanum (INS2). These accessions were genotyped based on the 7335 polymorphic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers. After that, genotypes were crossed in half diallel fashion to produce 45 hybrids. The INS2 displayed the highest values for the total phenolics and chlorogenic acid content (CGA). For all of the biochemical traits studied, significant values of general and specific combining ability (GCA and SCA) effects were determined. The baker ratio estimates were high (>0.75) for all of the traits. Highly significant and positive heterosis (%) was determined for the dry matter, total phenolics, CGA, and area (%) of CGA content. The phenolics content of the fruit (total phenolics and CGA) was not significantly correlated with flesh colour and browning related traits. However, when the path coefficient analysis was performed considering the CGA as a dependent variable, it was determined that the flesh colour related traits most considerably affected the CGA. The genetic distance showed a diminutive correlation with the hybrid means, heterosis, and SCA values. Overall, this study provides important information regarding the underlying genetics of important biochemical traits of eggplant fruit. Full article
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17 pages, 3897 KiB  
Article
Biosynthetic Gene Pyramiding Leads to Ascorbate Accumulation with Enhanced Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Tomato
by Xiaojing Li, Jie Ye, Shoaib Munir, Tao Yang, Weifang Chen, Genzhong Liu, Wei Zheng and Yuyang Zhang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(7), 1558; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20071558 - 28 Mar 2019
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 4281
Abstract
Ascorbic acid (AsA) has high antioxidant activities, and its biosynthesis has been well studied by engineering of a single structural gene (SG) in staple crops, such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). However, engineering the AsA metabolic pathway by multi-SG for biofortification remains [...] Read more.
Ascorbic acid (AsA) has high antioxidant activities, and its biosynthesis has been well studied by engineering of a single structural gene (SG) in staple crops, such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). However, engineering the AsA metabolic pathway by multi-SG for biofortification remains unclear. In this study, pyramiding transgenic lines including GDP-Mannose 3′,5′-epimerase (GME) × GDP-d-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GMP), GDP-l-Gal phosphorylase (GGP) × l-Gal-1-P phosphatase (GPP) and GME × GMP × GGP × GPP, were obtained by hybridization of four key genes to get over-expression transgenic plants (GME, GMP, GGP, and GPP) in tomato. Pyramiding lines exhibited a significant increase in total ascorbate in leaves and red fruits except for GGP × GPP. Expression analysis indicated that increased accumulation of AsA in pyramiding transgenic lines is due to multigene regulation in AsA biosynthesis. Substrate feeding in leaf and fruit suggested that AsA biosynthesis was mainly contributed by the d-Man/l-Gal pathway in leaves, while alternative pathways may contribute to AsA accumulation in tomato fruit. Pyramiding lines showed an enhanced light response, stress tolerance, and AsA transport capacity. Also, fruit shape, fruit size, and soluble solids were slightly affected by pyramiding. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of gene pyramiding for ascorbate biosynthesis in tomato. SGs pyramiding promotes AsA biosynthesis, which in turn enhances light response and oxidative stress tolerance. Also, the data revealed an alternative ascorbate biosynthesis pathway between leaves and fruit of tomato. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 897 KiB  
Review
Molecular Mechanism and Health Role of Functional Ingredients in Blueberry for Chronic Disease in Human Beings
by Luyao Ma, Zhenghai Sun, Yawen Zeng, Mingcan Luo and Jiazhen Yang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(9), 2785; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19092785 - 16 Sep 2018
Cited by 119 | Viewed by 18139
Abstract
Functional ingredients in blueberry have the best health benefits. To obtain a better understanding of the health role of blueberry in chronic disease, we conducted systematic preventive strategies for functional ingredients in blueberry, based on comprehensive databases, especially PubMed, ISI Web of Science, [...] Read more.
Functional ingredients in blueberry have the best health benefits. To obtain a better understanding of the health role of blueberry in chronic disease, we conducted systematic preventive strategies for functional ingredients in blueberry, based on comprehensive databases, especially PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and CNKI for the period 2008–2018. Blueberry is rich in flavonoids (mainly anthocyanidins), polyphenols (procyanidin), phenolic acids, pyruvic acid, chlorogenic acid, and others, which have anticancer, anti-obesity, prevent degenerative diseases, anti-inflammation, protective properties for vision and liver, prevent heart diseases, antidiabetes, improve brain function, protective lung properties, strong bones, enhance immunity, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and improve cognitive decline. The anthocyanins and polyphenols in blueberry are major functional ingredients for preventive chronic disease. These results support findings that blueberry may be one of the best functional fruits, and further reveals the mechanisms of anthocyanins and polyphenols in the health role of blueberry for chronic disease. This paper may be used as scientific evidence for developing functional foods, nutraceuticals, and novel drugs of blueberry for preventive chronic diseases. Full article
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