Contemporaneous dietary patterns could be best described as in need of
improvement. Obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome prevalence increased
dramatically in the recent years likely due to unbalanced dietary patterns and sedentary
lifestyle. “Epidemiological studies have shown that dietary patterns are significantly
associated with the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer,
diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease”.
“Fruits and vegetables” have improved the human diet for centuries, enriching it
nutritionally and sensorially. A significant amount of vitamins and minerals in the diet
come from fruits and vegetables. “Approximately half of the vitamin A, in the form of
carotene, over 90% of vitamin C and 40% of folacin come from this food group”.
Fruits contribute with “considerable amounts of vitamins A, C, B6, thiamin, niacin and
minerals (i.e. magnesium and iron)” to our diet. Furthermore, “they supply proteins,
starch and sugars, and they are important sources of dietary and crude fiber”.
“Epidemiological and clinical investigations demonstrate significant decrease in
morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and other diseases among fruit and
vegetables consumers”. These benefits have been associated to their content on dietary
fiber and different bioactive compounds with anti-atherosclerotic and anticancer
effects.
Apples and pears are some of the most “common and frequently consumed fruits in the
world and the most widely consumed fruits by Western populations”. A revision of the
type and content of bioactive compounds present in these types of fruits, as the main
methodologies used for the assessment of their antioxidant potential are presented in
this chapter.
Keywords: Antioxidant-potential-indicators, Bioactive-compounds, Cancer,
Chronic-diseases, Diabetes, Dietary-fiber, Flavonoids, Heart-disease, In
vitroassay, In vivoassay, Lipid-peroxidation, Low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol,
Obesity, Peel, Phenolic compounds, Pulp, Vitamins.
