Health Benefits of Bioactive Compounds from Vegetables

Abstract

Vegetables are the major protective food in our diet, and besides providing essential nutrients, they are also the reservoirs of bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds are the secondary metabolites that have an effect on living organisms and impart many health benefits. Most prominent bioactive compounds present in vegetables are terpenoids, carotenoids, phenolics, phytosterols, and glucosinolates. Many of these bioactive compounds are reported to possess antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-osteoporotic, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties, and are said to be effective as the reducers of cardiovascular complications. These bioactives can be extracted by various extraction techniques, and the extracted bioactives are evaluated using multiple in vitro and in vivo methods to ascertain their health benefits. This book chapter summarizes the literature available on bioactive compounds present in vegetables along with their health benefits, their extraction methods and effect of storage and processing on bioactive constituent retention.