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Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology
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Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 9044

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Callistus Bvenura

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Interests: ethnobotany; food and nutrition security; wild/indigenous fruits and vegetables; phytochemistry; botany; conservation
Prof. Dr. Learnmore Kambizi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Interests: ethnobotany; phytomedicine; botany; environmental sciences; conservation; food and nutrition security

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The daily consumption of portions of fruits and vegetables has been linked to a reduction in numerous lifestyle linked non communicable diseases among other comorbidities, and general health enhancement. Positive outcomes have been linked to the nutritional compositions of fruits and vegetables, including the health-promoting activities of their phenolic compounds. However, nutritional and phenolic compound bioavailability are still not fully understood. Wild fruits and vegetables have gained much attention over the past few decades due to their supposed rich nutritional and secondary metabolite profiles. Although fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious and can contribute to better health, the huge post-harvest losses and waste generated by their production are still a major cause for concern. Approximately 1.3 billion tons of food globally is either lost or wasted along the value chain, ending up in landfills, uneaten or unused. This food loss and waste is enough to feed about 48 million food and nutrition insecure people in sub-Saharan Africa. Post-harvest losses (up to 50% of fruits and vegetables) during harvesting, handling, storage, processing, packaging, transportation, and marketing are the main cause of this loss. New perspectives and practical applications of post-harvest technologies to reduce food loss and waste as well as retain nutritional and phenolic compounds, bioavailability, and functional properties, are thus needed. This Special Issue will focus on novel perspectives on the nutritional compositions, essential oils, biological activity, bioavailability studies, and antibacterial activity of fruits and vegetables, both wild and domesticated. Further focus should be directed toward the development of modern organic industrial and environmentally friendly technologies with applications in the food industry and other health-related domains to reduce losses and unnecessary wastage.

Dr. Callistus Bvenura
Prof. Dr. Learnmore Kambizi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • post-harvest
  • phenolic compounds
  • bioavailability
  • fruits and vegetables
  • food loss and waste
  • food and nutrition security

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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17 pages, 2043 KiB  
Article
Practices of Organic Medium Enclosed Trough and Amaranth Species Variation Enhanced Growth, Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Compounds
by Maeleletse Glas Mopai, Semakaleng Mpai and Ashwell R. Ndhlala
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12574; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312574 - 22 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 867
Abstract
Organic Medium Enclosed Trough (OMET) system is a new non-drainable growing technique. The study set out to investigate the interactive effects of OMET and Amaranth species variation on some growth attributes, yield, bioactive compounds, and nutrients. Three Amaranth species, A. caudatus, A. [...] Read more.
Organic Medium Enclosed Trough (OMET) system is a new non-drainable growing technique. The study set out to investigate the interactive effects of OMET and Amaranth species variation on some growth attributes, yield, bioactive compounds, and nutrients. Three Amaranth species, A. caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. tricolor, were grown in OMET and non-OMET growing conditions. Growth attributes, irrigation water, bioactive compounds, and nutrients were determined. Non-OMET growing conditions and A. cruentus showed the highest total phenolics and flavonols followed by A. caudatus and A. tricolor, whilst tannins were predominant in A. caudatus followed by A. cruentus and A. tricolor. The use of unsupervised PCA showed major metabolic variation based on Amaranth species and the use of supervised OPLS-DA showed clear metabolic variation based on OMET and non-OMET. OMET and A. cruentus showed the highest plant height, stem diameter, biomass, and some nutrients (%protein, Ca, P, Cu, Se, Zn), followed by A. caudatus based only on growth and biomass, and A. tricolor based only on some nutrients (Mg, K, Mn, and Fe). The use of the OMET system on A. cruentus and A. tricolor can be recommended to mitigate climate change effects on nutritional composition using relatively low levels of irrigation water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology)
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15 pages, 1906 KiB  
Article
Haskap Juicing Method Effects on Haskap Juice Quality
by Zhuoyu Wang, Andrej Svyantek, Zachariah Miller, Bridgid Jarrett and Ashley Kapus
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(19), 10784; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910784 - 28 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1401
Abstract
This research is the first study on the influence of juicing methods on the ‘Aurora’ haskap juice quality. Three common juice extraction methods, namely, using a steam juicer, a centrifugal juicer, and a bladder wine press, were applied for haskap juice extraction. Both [...] Read more.
This research is the first study on the influence of juicing methods on the ‘Aurora’ haskap juice quality. Three common juice extraction methods, namely, using a steam juicer, a centrifugal juicer, and a bladder wine press, were applied for haskap juice extraction. Both physicochemical assays and tests of antioxidant activities were employed to evaluate the qualities of the haskap juice. Generally, the centrifugal juicer increased and the steam juicer reduced concentrations of measured juice components relative to the press. The juice from the centrifugal juicer had the highest cloudiness. Sugar concentrations were about 40% lower in steam juice compared to the centrifugal juicer. Pressed juice had a slightly lower soluble solid content than the juice made with the centrifugal juicer and concentrations of glucose and fructose were similar between these methods. The methods altered pH and malic acid content without affecting the concentrations of tartaric and malic acids. Similar effects of juicing methods were seen in secondary compounds associated with health benefits and antioxidant capacities. Anthocyanin concentrations in press and centrifugal juicer extracts were similar, about 1.6 times higher than steam juicer extracts. Total phenolics and antioxidant activities were from two to four times higher in the centrifugal juicer extraction compared to steam juicing. Ascorbic acid and total flavonoid content in the haskap juice was increased by centrifugal juicing and decreased by steam juicing compared to the press. Overall, the juice extracted with the centrifugal juicer had concentrations of juice components that were 1.5–2 times higher than the steam juicer. The pressed juice had similar to slightly lower concentrations of components compared to the centrifugal juicer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology)
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10 pages, 524 KiB  
Communication
A Comparative Study of the Presence of Minerals, Flavonoids and Total Phenolic Compounds in the Leaves of Common Traditional Vegetables
by Fhatuwani Thovhogi, Nombasa Ntushelo and Eastonce T. Gwata
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(14), 8503; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148503 - 23 Jul 2023
Viewed by 2590
Abstract
Indigenous leafy vegetables are used mainly for human consumption since they provide health promoting phytonutrients and bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, flavonoids, minerals and vitamins. However, the phytonutrients and bioactive compounds in the leaves of these vegetables vary widely both quantitatively and qualitatively [...] Read more.
Indigenous leafy vegetables are used mainly for human consumption since they provide health promoting phytonutrients and bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, flavonoids, minerals and vitamins. However, the phytonutrients and bioactive compounds in the leaves of these vegetables vary widely both quantitatively and qualitatively due to genetic and environmental factors. This study determined the diversity, molecular size variation and the relationships between the minerals and nutrients. Four common leafy vegetables and one standard were used in the study. The mean iron and manganese leaf content was 279.44 mg/kg DW and 247.86 mg/kg DW, respectively. The total phenolic content ranged between 0.37 and 0.50 mg GAE/g. Nineteen different bioactive compounds, varying widely in molecular size, were detected in the four common leafy vegetables. Jute mallow leaves contained only two bioactive molecules which included quercetin-3′-glucoside. None of the eight quercetin-related derivatives that were present among the leafy vegetables were detected in Swiss chard. In cowpea, 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity was four-fold higher than in pumpkin and Swiss chard leaves. These results demonstrated that the common leafy vegetables varied widely in mineral composition and bioactive compounds, suggesting that a combination of these vegetables in the human diet can provide a wider range of nutrients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology)
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7 pages, 586 KiB  
Communication
Actinidia arguta (Baby Kiwi) Waste: Preliminary Considerations on Seed Recovery
by Nicole Roberta Giuggioli, Cristiana Peano and Luca Brondino
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 6859; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13116859 - 5 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1622
Abstract
Fruit seed oils are of new interest due to their significant properties and can be a good opportunity to recover fruit waste. Actinidia arguta (baby kiwi) fruits are a novelty in the market and berries can be consumed with the peels. Due to [...] Read more.
Fruit seed oils are of new interest due to their significant properties and can be a good opportunity to recover fruit waste. Actinidia arguta (baby kiwi) fruits are a novelty in the market and berries can be consumed with the peels. Due to their limited shelf life, fruits are very perishable and the waste management techniques used post-harvest are an important issue. Berry waste can be reused, for biological flows focused on food losses and waste reduction. Therefore, baby kiwi fruit samples were collected from the Ortofruititalia company orchards in Cuneo, Italy, and then processed and analysed for seed oil constituents using standard analytical methods. The results of this study indicate that unsaturated fatty acids were the most dominant fatty acids (92.6 g/100 g) in comparison with saturated (7.4 g/100 g). In addition, α-linoleic acid (82.7 g/100 g) was the most dominant unsaturated fatty acid. Additionally, γ-Tocopherol (0.023 g/100 g) was the most dominant tocopherol in this study. Extraction of seed oil from these berries could be proposed as an option for obtaining high-added-value oils for pharmaceutical cosmetics, among other uses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology)
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11 pages, 600 KiB  
Brief Report
Diversity in Selected Grain Mineral and Protein among Pigeonpea Landraces
by Dipoo C. Mashifane, Rogerio M. Chiulele and Eastonce T. Gwata
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(2), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14020573 - 9 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1190
Abstract
Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an important grain legume that provides highly nutritious food for human consumption. It contains high amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fats as well as both macro- and micronutrients. This study examined the genetic diversity of grain mineral and [...] Read more.
Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is an important grain legume that provides highly nutritious food for human consumption. It contains high amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fats as well as both macro- and micronutrients. This study examined the genetic diversity of grain mineral and protein content among fourteen pigeonpea landraces. There were highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.001) among the landraces for most of the mineral elements including calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn). The K and P content ranged from 8874.21 to 15,817.38 mg/kg and 2899.23 to 4945.12 mg/kg, respectively. Relatively high amounts of Ca (2103.43 mg/kg) and Mn (73.11 mg/kg) were observed in ‘G-03’, but ‘G-09’ attained the highest content of K (15,817.38 mg/kg) and Zn (38.56 mg/kg). Highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) negative correlations were observed between Mn and Cu. The principal component analysis showed that three landraces (‘G-03’, ‘G-04’ and ‘G-05’) were highly associated with Ca, P, Mg and Mn. The three landraces (‘G-03’ for Ca and Mn; ‘G-04’ for Mg and P; ‘G-09’ for Cu, K and Zn) possessing high grain mineral and protein (‘G-10’) contents can be utilized in pigeonpea breeding programs that are aimed at improving the grain’s traits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry, Nutrition and Post-harvest Technology)
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