Nutraceutical content of berries and minor fruits

Berry fruit and minor fruit represent a small portion of the total Italian fruit production, however they play a role of considerable interest in relation to the content of nutraceuticals. Among these substances can be listed vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins. The nutraceutical properties of these compounds are mainly concerned with the antioxidant activity that neutralizes the effects of free radicals, which contribute to cause oxidative damage to various cellular components. Numerous studies have shown that antioxidants reduce the occurrence of many diseases, including certain types of cancer. Consumers are increasingly concerned to the choice of their food, supporting both the search of organoleptic properties and quality, in the nutrition healthy sense too. These consumers are known as "conscious consumers" because their choices are focused on all aspects of quality, considering every sense of the term (organoleptic, nutritional, healthy and environmental).