Nutraceutical Potential of Strawberries, It’s Phytochemicals and Health Benefits: A Comprehensive Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i12.2711Keywords:
Strawberry, Phytochemicals, Functional Food, Nutraceutical Components, Health Benefits, Cellular Mechanism, Anti-cancer and Anti-inflammatory.Abstract
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) world widely recognized as a nutrient-dense fruit containing a wide range of bioactive compounds like anthocyanins, flavonoids, ellagitannins and other phenolic compounds that exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Over the past two decades, advances in techniques like chromatography and mass spectrometry have significantly expanded the understanding of the characterization of these compounds among different cultivar types, post-harvest handling, and plant tissues. Experimental evidence from various in vitro and human studies indicates that strawberry phytochemicals are capable of modulating oxidative stress, providing neuroprotection, enhancing endogenous detoxification systems and modulating cognitive and metabolic functions. However, despite all these promising biological effects of strawberry phytochemicals, there remain some uncertainties regarding their metabolic fate, bioavailability and their long-term effects on human health. By synthesizing findings from recent literature, this review highlights the chemical composition, biological effects, and potential health benefits of strawberry consumption either raw or in supplement form or as freeze-dried strawberry powder. This review also emphasizes that, strawberries should be consumed as a whole rather than in supplemental constituents because there are many phytochemicals that provide multiple health benefits despite focusing on a single benefit. While focusing on the need for an analytical approach and more clinical studies in the future.
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