Color of fruit

Without doubt the greatest contribution to a successful harvest comes from the sun. Sunshine provides energy for plants to grow, ripens wood, and Improves the flavor and color of fruits. If your garden receives sun for only part of the day, you will be limited In what tree fruits you can successfully grow—... 

Olive fruit has long been used as a food and as a source of edible oil for frying and salad dressings. The phenolic content in olive fruits is known to contribute to the natural bitterness and the final color of fruits (66), and to provide natural antioxidant activity in olive oil... 

Regulate the chemical composition of plants and the color of fruit. 

When shopping for superfruits, it s important to think about color, since colors of fruits, as we know, are influenced by specific phytochemical characteristics. Superfruits can be simply cataloged by four color groups as a visual guide for shopping (1) orange-yellow, (2) red-tan, (3) blue-... 

Carotenoids are extended polyenes that absorb light between 400 and 500 nm. The carotenoids are responsible for most of the yellow and red colors of fruits and flowers, and they provide the brilliance of fall, when the chlorophyll molecules arc degraded to reveal the carotenoids. 

Texture. Flavor, and Color of Fruits and Vegetables. Considerable variability is found in the texture, flavor, and color of the edible portion of horticultural crops. Obviously much of this variability is due to preharvest cultural and environmental conditions, postharvest treatment, and the stage of maturity at consumption. However, there is also considerable genetic variability which accounts for the range of visual and organoleptic properties. 

The bright blue color of fruits of Clerodendron trichoto-mum (Verbenaceae) is due to the presence of bisindole alkaloids such as trichotomine (46). The blue color of these alkaloids is uncommonly encountered in nature (Fig. 35.14) (Cordell and Saxton, 1981). 

NOTE 2 For colors of fruiting bodies, also see Section 7.]... 

The colors of fruits and vegetables help identify those containing beneficial compounds. The table below contains a fist of some of the more well-known phytonutrients together with sources, colors, and beneficial actions. The amount of evidence supporting the existence of benefits from phytonutrients is not the same for all those listed in the table. In some cases, the experimental evidence is extensive (e.g., the cancer-blocking behavior of isothiocyanates), while in other cases the listed benefits are based on a limited amount of research and more studies are being done (e.g., the contribution to eye health by anthocyanins). 

Sulfur dioxide is easily recognized by its characteristic smell, which irritates the respiratory passages. As already mentioned, it is mainly used for the production of sulfuric acid, but it also has some applications of its own, as it kills bacteria and is an antioxidant. SO2 or sodium sulfite preserves the natural color of fruits and vegetables -for instance, peeled potatoes remain white. Sulfite is also added to wine before bottling to prevent further fermentation. Sulfur dioxide in wines may however cause health problems. 

The MAP is a process by which the shelf life of a fresh product is increased significantly, by enclosing it in an atmosphere which slows down the degradative process such as the growth of microbial oiganisms, whilst enhancing some beneficial actions such as retaining of desirable color of fruits. 

Flavonoids constitute a large class of phytochemicals that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom, are present in high concentrations in the epidermis of leaves and skin of fruits, and have important and varied roles as secondary metabolites. More than 8000 varieties of flavonoids have been identified, many of which are responsible for the colors of fruits and flower. They are found in fruits, vegetables, tea, wine, grains, roots, stems, and flowers and are thus regularly consumed by humans. Although it has been widely known for centuries that derivatives... 

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