The Opuntia fruits, commonly known as cactus pears or prickly pears, have been suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organization to be a promising and strategic crop in regions suffering from lack of water. In Mexico, India, South Africa, and the Mediterranean, the Opuntia fruits have become popular due to their nutritive value and health-promoting benefits, including antioxidant, antiulcerogenic and antiatherogenic traits and protective effects against LDL oxidation. Additionally, readily absorbable sugars, high vitamin C and mineral content, and a pleasant flavour make Opuntia tailor-made for novel foods. Due to their ecological advantages, high functional value, and health-related traits, Opuntia fruits can be highly exploited in different food processing applications. For instance, Opuntia cactus fruits are used for the preparation of juices and marmalades; Opuntia cactus plants are used to feed animals in African and Latin American countries; Peruvian farmers cultivate Opuntia cactus for growing the cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) insect and producing the natural dye carmine; and the commercial production of food and non-food products from Opuntia has been established in Mexico, USA and several Mediterranean countries. Opuntia spp.: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Industrial Applications creates a multidisciplinary forum of discussion on Opuntia cactus with special emphasis on its horticulture, post-harvest, marketability, chemistry, functionality, health-promoting properties, technology and processing. The text includes detailed discussion of the impact of traditional and innovative processing on the recovery of high-added value compounds from Opuntia spp. by-products. Later chapters explore the potential applications of Opuntia spp. in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

This book comprehensively reviews the phytochemistry, functional properties, and health-promoting effects of bioactive compounds found in oil processing by-products, and it also explores the food and non-food applications of these by-products. Several oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits are cultivated for their oils and fats, wherein the oil extraction industry generates a huge amount of waste (meal or cake). The valorisation of this waste would be very beneficial not only from the economic and environmental perspectives, but also for the potential applications in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, in which phytochemicals derived from vegetable oil and oilseed processing by-products play an important role in, for instance, extending the shelf life of several products and providing added-value properties with their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. In this work, expert contributors discuss about the added-value of biowaste from common and non-traditional vegetable oils and oilseeds processing, as well as fruit oils processing, and offer an extensive overview of the different bioactive compounds found in extracts from oil processing by-products and their chemical composition. The book also collects several examples in which oil processing by-products are integrated into industrial activities such as food production, livestock production and in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Professionals and scholars alike interested in the recycling of agro-industrial wastes derived from vegetable oil and oilseed processing by-products will find this book a handy reference tool.

This book focuses on various tropical fruit tree species management for climate change including mitigation strategies and technological countermeasures taken by researchers, progressive growers and commercial companies to overcome the adverse changes. It can be considered as a unique source emphasizing the fruit species solitary not by subject as usual to enable readers reaching directly to their crop of interest. The content includes genetic resources conservation, remote sensing and environmental certification. Increasing attention of society toward information and measures taken by various stakeholders about climate change risks and threats makes this book very timely. Key points • Provides a contemporary view of the impact of climate change on cultivation of individual fruit species. • Offers modern approaches for mitigating the adverse impact of climate change on fruits cultivation. • Describes research progress of understanding and combating the impact of climate change on fruits production. • Illustrates presented concepts with relevant figures and tabulated data.

Advancement of Phenolic Acids in Drug Discovery: Fundamental and Applications offers comprehensive coverage of the ADMET profiles of phenolic acids, their extraction method and prospects for drug design and development. Chapters overview phenolic acids and their characterization, discuss the role of phenolic acids in plant systems, present sources and detailed extraction methods of phenolic acids, and cover phenolic acid mechanisms of action as it relates to several key diseases and health conditions, including their role as antioxidant agents, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, anti-microbial drugs, anti-viral drugs, anti-cancer drugs, diabetes and metabolic dysfunctions, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases. The book's final chapters cover nanoscience aspects of phenolic acids, biomedical applications, and concludes with challenges and opportunities presented by phenolic acids. This is the ideal reference for researchers in the fields of drug development, both in academia and corporate settings. Researchers of related areas like food science and medicinal chemistry will also benefit from this in-depth profiling of therapeutical properties of phenolic acids. - Highlights fundamental concepts with advanced exploration of phenolic acids - Provides in-depth coverage on the design and development of novel drugs from natural phenolic acids - Reviews the changing role of phenolic acids

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF FUNCTIONAL FOOD Comprehensive resource for understanding state-of-the-art mechanisms behind food health effects This book provides information on the development and validation of functional foods towards their market and industrial application. It covers the available information on developments, efficacy, and testing and safety, while demonstrating the proven or potential effects of food on health and disease. With contributions from the foremost experts in the field, this book will bring readers up to speed on the state of the art in the mechanisms behind food health effects, from their physiological bases to their conception, current uses, and future developments. Sample topics covered by the authors include: The molecular mechanisms of action of antioxidant fibers, prebiotics, ginger, and cinnamon Saffron, a functional food with potential molecular effects Pseudocereals, ancestral grains that can serve as a source of bioactive compounds for functional foods Molecular effects of future functional foods – psychobiotics, chronobiotics, hempseed, opuntia, common and carioca beans, coffee and cocoa by-products Food industry professionals, government workers involved in projects related to food, and students in programs of study related to food can use this book as an up-to-date reference to fully understand the effects that many common and uncommon foods have on humans.

Plant hormones have pivotal roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and reproduction. Their signaling pathways are interconnected in a complex network, which provides plants with an enormous regulatory potential to rapidly adapt to their environment and to utilize their limited resources for growth and survival in a cost-efficient manner. Auxin is a hormone molecule whose activity levels are most important for its regulatory roles during plant cell, organ, and tissue development. Therefore, the precise regulation of auxin levels is an essential mechanism to fine-tune the activity of this powerful hormone during plant growth and development. Likewise, cytokinins exhibit a wide range of physiological functions, including regulation of shoot and root apical meristems, stimulation of branching, vascular development, chloroplast differentiation, stabilization of the structure and function of the photosynthetic machinery, delay of senescence, stomata opening, and elevation of the sink strength and nutritional signaling. Moreover, gibberellins also regulate many aspects of plant growth and development including seed germination, stem elongation, leaf expansion, and flower and fruit development. The broad implication of gibberellins in plant development is strictly associated with tight regulation of their metabolism by multiple environmental and endogenous factors, ranging from light and temperature to other hormones including feedback control. Understanding the significant roles of these phytohormones in plant biology, the current subject has attracted the attention of scientists from across the globe. This comprehensive volume “Auxins, Cytokinins and Gibberellins Signaling in Plants” highlights the various prospects involved in the current scenario. The book comprises the chapters from diverse areas dealing with biotechnology, molecular biology, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, etc.

Parasitism and Parasitic Control in Animals brings together all the details needed to appropriately manage parasites in domestic animals. It provides comprehensive coverage of parasites and factors affecting their transmission, principles of parasite control, diagnosis, and assessment of parasitological information. With numerous new case histories and maps showing the spread of anthelmintic resistance, this textbook forms an essential guide for veterinary practitioners, students and technicians. It is also an invaluable resource for parasitologists, researchers, animal health professionals and anyone working with these parasites in developing countries.

Various processes are required to preserve and extend the shelf-life of food, many of which cause detrimental effects on the color and appearance of food. Alternative methods for the thermal processing of food are gaining importance day by day due to increased consumer demand for minimally processed fresh-like food products with high sensory, appearance, and nutritional qualities. This new book provides an informative overview of non-thermal food processing technologies that can preserve food color and appearance. The book offers comprehensive coverage of the application of emerging technologies on the color profile of different food products, such as fruits, vegetables, beverages, dairy products, and meat. It discusses the influence and impact of emerging technologies on the color and appearance of foods and beverages, along with their challenges and prospects. The food processing technologies discussed include cold plasma, ultrasound, microwave processing, ozone processing, ohmic heating, pulsed light, UV irradiation, pulsed electric field, high-pressure processing, vacuum frying, and others. This book, Non-Thermal Food Processing Technologies: Impact on Color Profile, offers an important context on applying emerging food processing technologies to solve food safety issues and enhance shelf-life extension while paying attention to food appearance. It is an excellent resource for food engineers and technologists, processors, nutritionists, and food industry professionals for exploring new non-thermal techniques.

These are just a few examples that illustrate the chemical diversity and use of phenolic compounds, the topic of ‘Phenolic Compound Biochemistry’. This book is written for researchers, instructors, advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students in the life sciences who wish to become more familiar with these and many other intriguing aspects of phenolic compounds. Topics covered include nomenclature, chemical properties, biosynthesis, including an up-to-date overview of the genetics controlling phenolic metabolism, isolation and characterization of phenolic compounds, phenolics used in plant defense, and the impact of phenolics on human health. The book is written in an accessible style, and assumes only basic knowledge of organic chemistry, biochemistry and cell physiology. More than 300 chemical structures and reaction schemes illustrate the text. Wilfred Vermerris is Associate Professor of Agronomy at the University of Florida Genetics Institute in Gainesville, FL. His research focuses on the genetic control of phenolic compounds that impact agro-industrial processing of crop plants. Ralph Nicholson is Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. He is an expert on phenolic compounds involved in the plant’s defense against pathogenic fungi and bacteria.

Changes in lifestyle and demographics shifted preferences about the relationships between food and health, contributing to generate new needs in the food supply. Today, the role of food is not only intended as hunger satisfaction and nutrient supply, but also as an opportunity to prevent nutrition-related diseases and improve physical and mental well-being. There is a growing interest in the novel or less well known plant foods that offer an opportunity for health maintenance. This book shows that an interest in plant foods and underutilized fruits is continuously growing, and agrobiodiversity exploitation offers effective and extraordinary potentialities. Readers will discover that plant foods could become an important source of health-promoting compounds and functional food ingredients with beneficial properties. The description of the quality and physicochemical traits, the identification and quantification of the main biologically active compounds, and the evaluation of their biological activities are important to assess plant food efficacy as functional foods or a source of food supplement ingredients for the consumers.