Chapter 11 – Bioactive Components from Leaf Vegetable Products
Abstract
Traditionally, plant-based products have been used for different purposes. From ancient times, people on all continents have long applied poultices and imbibed infusions of indigenous plants. Numerous reports regarding the use of leaf vegetable products for the treatment of many human diseases have been made. Proven medicinal properties include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antibacterial, and antiviral effects. Most of these properties can be attributed to its high content in bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds are secondary metabolites of plants, which are extra nutritional constituents that typically occur in small quantities in foods. They are being intensively studied in order to evaluate their effects on health. These compounds may elicit a long range of different effects in man and animals eating the plants dependent on plant species and amount eaten. Plants with potent bioactive compounds are often characterized as both poisonous and medicinal, and their beneficial or adverse result may depend on the amount eaten and the context of intake. For typical food and feed plants with bioactive compounds with less pronounced effects, the intakes are usually regarded as beneficial.
According to several studies, the great number of potentially beneficial compounds and their multifunctional properties makes plant products perfect candidates for the production of health-promoting food and food supplements. The aim of this chapter is to present a review in terms of leaf vegetable products as source of bioactive compounds, including its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.
Keywords
- Bioactive compounds;
- Leafy vegetable products;
- Ascorbic acid;
- Carotenoids;
- Tocopherols and Tocotrienols;
- Phytosterols;
- Polyphenols;
- Sulfur compounds
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