Natural Antioxidants and Phyto-Chemicals in Plant Foods

Contents: Preface. 1. Natural antioxidants. 2. Phytochemicals in plant foods. 3. Free radicals and diseases. 4. Polyphenols and their bioavailability. 5. Nutritional composition and antioxidant contents of fruits and vegetables. 6. Antioxidants in beverages. 7. Antioxidants in spices and herbs. 8. Biological effects of antioxidants of foods and drinks of plant origin.

Reports of many epidemiological studies suggest that diet rich in natural antioxidants and phyto chemicals execute a protective role in many diseases. Generation of free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) during metabolism and other physiological activities beyond the antioxidant capacity of a biological system give risk to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays a role in many diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Dietary antioxidants substances when present in low concentration significantly delays or prevents the negative impact of oxidation. Apart from their role in health benefactors, antioxidants are added in food to prevent or delay oxidation of food, initiated by free radicals during their exposure to environmental factors such as temperature, light and air. Mostly synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxy Anisol BHA or Butlyhydroxy toluence BHT are used by processors for improving the keeping quality of food or livestock feed. The main disadvantage with the synthetic antioxidants is the side effects after their consumption.