Long used in sacred ceremonies and associated with good health, the nutritional and health promoting benefits of olives and olive oils have been proven by an ever-increasing body of science. From cardiovascular benefits to anti-microbial, anti-cancer, antioxidant activity and effects on macrophages and aptoptosis to cellular and pathophysiollogical process, olives and olive oils are proving important in many healthful ways. For example, reactive components in olive oils or olive oil by-products have now been isolated and identified. These include tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid elenolic acid and oleuropein. Oleic acid is the main monosaturated fatty acid of olive oil. These have putative protective effects and modulate the biochemistry of a variety of cell types including those of the vascular system. Some but not all components have been characterised by their putative pharmacological properties. It is possible that usage of these aforementioned products may have beneficial application in other disease. However, in order for this cross-fertilization to take place, a comprehensive understanding of olives and olive oils is required. Finding this knowledge in a single volume provides a key resource for scientists in a variety of food an nutritional roles. - Explores olives and olive oil from their general aspects to the detailed level of important micro-and micronutrients - Includes coverage of various methodologies for analysis to help scientists and chemists determine the most appropriate option for their own studies, including those of olive-related compounds in other foods - Relates, in a single volume resource, information for food and nutritional chemists, pharmaceutical scientists, nutritionists and dieticians - Presents information in three key categories: General aspects of olives an olive oils; Nutritional, pharmacological and metabolic properties of olives and olive oil; Specific components of olive oil and their effects on tissue and body systems

The last thirty years have seen the establishment of Food Engineering both as an academic discipline and as a profession. Combining scientific depth with practical usefulness, this book serves as a tool for graduate students as well as practicing food engineering.

The only single-source reference on the science of olives and olive oil nutrition and health benefits Olives and Olive Oil as Functional Foods is the first comprehensive reference on the science of olives and olive oil. While the main focus of the book is on the fruit’s renowned health-sustaining properties, it also provides an in-depth coverage of a wide range of topics of vital concern to producers and researchers, including post-harvest handling, packaging, analysis, sensory evaluation, authentication, waste product utilization, global markets, and much more. People have been cultivating olives for more than six millennia, and olives and olive oil have been celebrated in songs and legends for their life-sustaining properties since antiquity. However, it is only within the last several decades that the unique health benefits of their consumption have become the focus of concerted scientific studies. It is now known that olives and olive oil contain an abundance of phenolic antioxidants, as well as the anti-cancer compounds such as squalene and terpenoids. This centerpiece of the Mediterranean diet has been linked to a greatly reduced risk of heart disease and lowered cancer risk. Bringing together contributions from some of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, this book: Addresses the importance of olives and olive oil for the agricultural economy and the relevance of its bioactive components to human health Explores the role that olive oil plays in reducing oxidative stress in cells-a well-known risk factor in human health Provides important information about new findings on olive oil and lipids which reviews the latest research Explores topics of interest to producers, processors, and researchers, including the fruit’s chemical composition, processing considerations, quality control, safety, traceability, and more Edited by two scientists world-renowned for their pioneering work on olive oil and human health, this book is an indispensable source of timely information and practical insights for agricultural and food scientists, nutritionists, dieticians, physicians, and all those with a professional interest in food, nutrition, and health.

Epidemiological studies indicate that the consumption of natural antioxidants from such plant-derived sources as olive oil produces beneficial health effects. Olive Oil: Minor Constituents and Health provides a balanced understanding of the pharmacological properties of phenols and other bioactive ingredients in the composition of olive oil. It dis

The Mediterranean diet is well-known worldwide and recognized as a nutrition reference model by the World Health Organization. Virgin olive oil, prepared from healthy and intact fruits of the olive tree only by mechanical means, is a basic ingredient and a real pillar of this diet. Its positive role in health has now been a topic of universal concern. The virtues of natural olive oil, and especially of extra virgin olive oil, are related to the quality of the fruits, the employment of advanced technologies, and the availability of sophisticated analytical techniques that are used to control the origin of the fruits and guarantee the grade of the final product. To enrich recent multidisciplinary scientific information concerning this healthy lipid source, a new special issue of Foods has been published.

Gastrointestinal Tissue: Oxidative Stress and Dietary Antioxidants brings together leading experts from world renowned institutions, combining the basic mechanisms of gastrointestinal diseases with information regarding new and alternative treatments. The processes within the science of oxidative stress are described in concert with other processes, including apoptosis, cell signaling and receptor mediated responses, further recognizing that diseases are often multifactorial with oxidative stress as a component. By combining the critical molecular processes underlying free radical mediated pathologies and the role of dietary antioxidant molecules, a connection is made that helps advance therapies and the prevention of gastrointestinal pathological processes. This important reference is well designed with two complementary sections. Section One, Oxidative Stress and Gastroenterology, covers the basic processes of oxidative stress from molecular biology to whole organs, the gastrointestinal anatomy and sources of oxidative stress and free radicals and their products in gastrointestinal diseases. Section Two, Antioxidants and Gastroenterology covers antioxidants in foods, including plants and components. - Covers the science of oxidative stress in gastrointestinal tissue and associated conditions and scenarios - Provides information on optimal levels for human consumption of antioxidants, suggested requirements per day, recommended dietary allowances and curative/preventive effects of dietary antioxidants - Presents an easy to reference guide with two complementary sections that discuss the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal diseases in relation to oxidative stress and antioxidant therapies

Handbook of Vegetables and Vegetable Processing, Second Edition is the most comprehensive guide on vegetable technology for processors, producers, and users of vegetables in food manufacturing.This complete handbook contains 42 chapters across two volumes, contributed by field experts from across the world. It provides contemporary information that brings together current knowledge and practices in the value-chain of vegetables from production through consumption. The book is unique in the sense that it includes coverage of production and postharvest technologies, innovative processing technologies, packaging, and quality management. Handbook of Vegetables and Vegetable Processing, Second Edition covers recent developments in the areas of vegetable breeding and production, postharvest physiology and storage, packaging and shelf life extension, and traditional and novel processing technologies (high-pressure processing, pulse-electric field, membrane separation, and ohmic heating). It also offers in-depth coverage of processing, packaging, and the nutritional quality of vegetables as well as information on a broader spectrum of vegetable production and processing science and technology. Coverage includes biology and classification, physiology, biochemistry, flavor and sensory properties, microbial safety and HACCP principles, nutrient and bioactive properties In-depth descriptions of key processes including, minimal processing, freezing, pasteurization and aseptic processing, fermentation, drying, packaging, and application of new technologies Entire chapters devoted to important aspects of over 20 major commercial vegetables including avocado, table olives, and textured vegetable proteins This important book will appeal to anyone studying or involved in food technology, food science, food packaging, applied nutrition, biosystems and agricultural engineering, biotechnology, horticulture, food biochemistry, plant biology, and postharvest physiology.

A Paradigm Shift to Prevent and Treat Alzheimer's Disease: From Monotargeting Pharmaceuticals to Pleiotropic Plant Polyphenols is the first book to systematically exhibit the powerful pleiotropic pharmacological effects on Alzheimer's disease of plant-based compounds from ancient foods that humans have been consuming safely with substantial health benefits for thousands of years. These plant-based compounds include curcuminoids from turmeric, resveratrol from red wine and grape seed extract from other grape products, epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) from green tea, and oleocanthal and oleuropein from olive oil, in addition to a special extract, EGb 761, from the leaves of Ginkgo biloba, the oldest living species of tree on earth. This book also presents a new analytical framework that convincingly favors a multi-targeting ("pleiotropic") approach to the prevention and treatment of complex chronic diseases, in contrast to the mono-targeting of the pharmaceutical model. A Paradigm Shift to Prevent and Treat Alzheimer's Disease is a unique and exciting resource for pharmaceutical scientists, pharmacologists, neurologists, general practitioners, research scientists in various medical and life sciences, healthcare professionals in clinical and executive positions, conventional medical schools, schools of naturopathic medicine, healthcare and medical journalists, executives in both national public healthcare systems and private insurers, and informed general readers. - Presents carefully compiled evidence supporting the need to shift from pharmaceutical-based mono-targeting to plant polyphenol-based pleiotropic targeting for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease - Includes valuable tables that aggregate pleiotropic pharmacological effects of the plant polyphenols on Alzheimer's disease-related pathogenic hallmarks - Highlights regulatory aspects and discusses the challenges and potential solutions with respect to bioavailability of certain plant polyphenols

According to European legislation, extra virgin is the top grade of olive oils. It has a superior level of health properties and flavour compared to virgin and refined olive oils. Mediterranean countries still produce more than 85% of olive oil globally, but the constant increase of demand for extra virgin olive oil has led to new cultivation and production in other areas of the world, including California, Australia, China, South Africa and South America. At the same time, olive oil’s sensory properties and health benefits are increasingly attracting the attention and interest of nutritionists, food processors, manufacturers and food services. Progress and innovation in olive cultivation, harvesting and milling technologies as well as in oil handling, storage and selling conditions make it possible to achieve even higher quality levels than those stipulated for extra virgin oils. As a consequence, a new segment – excellent extra virgin olive oils – is increasingly attracting the attention of the market and earning consumers’ preference. The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Handbook provides a complete account of olive oil’s composition, health properties, quality, and the legal standards surrounding its production. The book is divided into convenient sections focusing on extra virgin olive oil as a product, the process by which it is made, and the process control system through which its quality is assured. An appendix presents a series of tables and graphs with useful data, including conversion factors, and the chemical and physical characteristics of olive oil. This book is aimed at people involved in the industrial production as well as in the marketing and use of extra virgin olive oil who are looking for practical information, which avoids overly academic language, but which is still scientifically and technically sound. The main purpose of the handbook is to guide operators involved in the extra virgin olive oil chain in making the most appropriate decisions about product quality and operating conditions in the production and distribution processes. To these groups, the most important questions are practical ones of why, how, how often, how much will it cost, and so on. The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Handbook will provide the right answers to these key practical considerations, in a simple, clear yet precise and up-to-date way.

This comprehensive handbook is a "one-stop-shop" for all researchers involved in the field of alcohol-related harm at the whole body or cellular level. Over 100 chapters provide abundant information of a wide range of topics that extend from the evolutionary aspects of alcohol consumption and the prevalence of alcohol misuse to programmed cell death. Each chapter is highly illustrated with tables and figures making this a valuable reference for students, clinicians and researchers alike. *Over 100 chapters conveniently divided into 3 sections *Represents a 'one-stop-shop' of information with suitable indexing of the various pathways and processes *Each chapter is highly illustrated with tables as well as figures