Vegetables Processing and Bioactive Compounds

Vegetable processing is preparation of vegetables for use by humans consumptions as food. The main objective of vegetable processing is to supply wholesome, safe, nutritious and acceptable food to consumers throughout the year. Vegetables consist of a large group of plants consumed as food. Perishable when fresh but able to be preserved by a number of processing methods, they are excellent sources of certain minerals and vitamins and are often the main source of dietary fibre. The consumption of vegetables has increased significantly as consumers have become more health-conscious. Owing to the perishable nature of the fresh produce, international trade in vegetables is mostly confined to the processed forms. Vegetables can be classified by edible parts into root (e.g., potatoes and carrots), stem (asparagus and celery), leaf (lettuce and spinach), immature flower bud (broccoli and brussels sprouts), and fruit (tomatoes and cucumbers) etc. Depending on the class of vegetable, there are differences in the structure, size, shape, and rigidity of the individual cells. The fresh market shelf life and processing requirements are also very different. The four quality factors of vegetables are colour, texture, flavour, and nutritive values. Fresh vegetables are purchased on the basis of colour and texture, but repeated purchases are made on the basis of flavour and nutritional content. The major nutrients contributed by vegetables to the human diet are dietary fibre (both soluble and insoluble), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium), and vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, folic acid). Vegetables contain a complex profile of bioactive compounds, of which most are labile to heat, air and/or light. To extract bioactive compounds effectively from fresh tissue, samples are usually cut into small pieces and then snap-frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen since chopped material is much more unstable. Vegetables are the major sources of natural antioxidants and contain various kinds of antioxidant compounds such as vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, lutein, and lycopene. Among these compounds, Phenolic compounds represent a majority of natural antioxidants presently identified. It has ability to scavenge free radicals and exhibits antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, antiglycemic, anticholesterol, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Phenolic compounds can be used as ingredients in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and food. For application in food, it can be used to prevent oxidation of food containing high amounts of liquid. Phenolic compounds were found in various vegetables. Determination of the nature of the compounds in different commodities by different methods and the influence of pre-harvest, postharvest and processing treatments is well know. This book summarizes the vegetable processing of different crops and wide variety of extraction and characterization techniques which are used to quantify individual or total antioxidants, as well as other bioactive compounds. Keeping above view in mind, we have decided to work on compilation and editing of Book entitled Vegetable Processing and Bioactive Compound Extraction by Dr. Dattatreya M. Kadam, Dr. Monika Sharma and Dr. Devinder Kaur. Book covers tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, brinjal/egg plant, mushroom, Bitter gourd, bamboo, chilli, potatoes, leafy vegetables, lady finger, root crops, onion, curry leaves, (22 Chapters) those chapters are contributed by different authors/ multiple authors from different organization, institute and university. This edited book will be good source of text/ reference book for teachers, students and researchers of different universities, colleges and institute. This book targets the areas of Food Processing, Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Processing, Food Science and Technology, Horticulture, Post-harvest Technology, Food and Nutrition, Food Biochemistry, Food Microbiology etc.…