Functional properties and quality characteristics of bioactive compounds in berries: Biochemistry, biotechnology, and genomics

This review summarizes biological active compounds of berry fruits and their importance in relation to human health. The group of bioactive compounds consists of phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, phenolic acids, stilbens, tannins, and carotenoids. Berries are important sources of a wide variety of bioactive compounds. Under stress conditions, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals are produced in an extensive range during metabolism in plants. The insufficiency of antioxidant defense mechanisms in humans is associated to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. The extraction and characterization of bioactive compounds that may help to prevent these disorders and, as a consequence, delay the onset of aging is receiving major attention by researchers along with the generation of a detailed picture of the changing metabolic profiles during berries development. The studies regarding the bioavailability and potential toxicity of bioactive compounds also take part in this review. Finally, we would like to emphasize the importance of associate new plant breeding techniques and genetic studies in berry fruits. The promising research of quality trait loci (QTLs) during the analyses of expression and over-expression of bioactive compounds under controlled conditions in order to obtain value-added fruits for human health is also mentioned. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.