Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2024 Nov;23(6):e13426. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.13426. Epub 2024 Aug 21.
Bioactive compounds in fruit and vegetables have a positive impact on human health by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular (CV) diseases, and metabolic disorders. However, some fruit and vegetables must be heated before consumption and thermal processes can modify the amount of nutraceuticals, that is, polyphenols, carotenoids, glucosinolates, and ascorbic acid, that can increase or decrease in relation to different factors such as type of processing, temperature, and time but also the plant part (e.g., flower, leaf, tuber, and root) utilized as food. Another important aspect is related to the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of nutraceuticals. Indeed, the key stage of nutraceutical bioefficiency is oral bioavailability, which involves the release of nutraceuticals from fruit and vegetables in gastrointestinal fluids, the solubilization of nutraceuticals and their interaction with other components of gastrointestinal fluids, the absorption of nutraceuticals by the epithelial layer, and the chemical and biochemical transformations into epithelial cells. Several studies have shown that thermal processing can enhance the absorption of nutraceuticals from fruit and vegetable. Once absorbed, they reach the blood vessels and promote multiple biological effects (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, vasoprotective, and cardioprotective). In this review, we described the impact of different thermal processes (such as boiling, steaming and superheated steaming, blanching, and microwaving) on the retention/degradation of bioactive compounds and their health-promoting effects after the intake. We then summarized the impact of heating on the absorption of nutraceuticals and the biological effects promoted by natural compounds in the CV system to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential impact of thermal processing on the CV benefits of fruit and vegetables.
果蔬中的生物活性化合物通过减少氧化应激、炎症以及癌症、心血管疾病和代谢紊乱等慢性病的风险，对人体健康产生积极影响。然而，有些果蔬在食用前必须加热，而热加工过程会改变营养物质（如多酚、类胡萝卜素、硫代葡萄糖苷和抗坏血酸）的含量，这些营养物质的含量会因加工类型、温度和时间等不同因素而增加或减少，还会因植物部位（如花、叶、块茎和根）的不同而有所不同。另一个重要方面与营养物质的生物可及性和生物利用度有关。实际上，营养生物效率的关键阶段是口服生物利用度，它涉及营养物质从果蔬中在胃肠道液中的释放、营养物质的溶解及其与胃肠道液中其他成分的相互作用、营养物质被上皮层吸收以及在进入上皮细胞后发生的化学和生化转化。多项研究表明，热加工可以提高果蔬中营养物质的吸收。一旦被吸收，它们就会进入血管，并促进多种生物学效应（如抗氧化、抗炎、降压、血管保护和心脏保护）。在这篇综述中，我们描述了不同热加工（如煮沸、蒸煮和过热蒸煮、烫漂和微波处理）对生物活性化合物的保留/降解及其摄入后促进健康的影响。然后，我们总结了加热对营养物质吸收和天然化合物在心血管系统中促进的生物学效应的影响，为热加工对果蔬心血管益处的潜在影响提供了全面的概述。
