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Introduction of Phytonutrients

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Handbook of Dietary Phytochemicals

Abstract

Phytonutrients can be defined as phytochemicals that are present in phyto-foods and have some nutritional value, especially in relation to maintenance of human health and prevention of diseases. Their regular and adequate intake may offer protection from major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Phyto-foods like apples, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cherries, soybeans, tomatoes, and walnuts contain phytonutrients of various chemical classes. There are over 25,000 phytonutrients from different phytochemical classes, e.g., anthocyanins, carotenoids, coumarins, flavonoids, diarylalkanoids, lignans, phenolic acids, polyphenols, sterols, and terpenes, which have been found in plant foods. This chapter introduces various types of phytonutrients and their health benefits and leads to various relevant chapters incorporated in this book.

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Acknowledgements

L Nahar gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the European Regional Development Fund - Project ENOCH (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000868).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Natural Products Discovery (CNPD), School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Lutfun Nahar & Satyajit D. Sarker

  2. Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Institute of Experimental Botany ASCR & Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Lutfun Nahar

  3. Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau

    Jianbo Xiao

Authors
  1. Lutfun Nahar
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  2. Jianbo Xiao
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  3. Satyajit D. Sarker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lutfun Nahar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Macau, Macao

    Jianbo Xiao

  2. School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sci., Liverpool John Moores University School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sci., Liverpool, UK

    Satyajit D. Sarker

  3. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima, Japan

    Yoshinori Asakawa

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© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Nahar, L., Xiao, J., Sarker, S.D. (2020). Introduction of Phytonutrients. In: Xiao, J., Sarker, S.D., Asakawa, Y. (eds) Handbook of Dietary Phytochemicals. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1745-3_2-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1745-3_2-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1745-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1745-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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