Bioactive Compounds of Blueberries: Post-Harvest Factors Influencing the Nutritional Value of Products.
Blueberries, besides having commonly-recognized taste properties, are also a valuable source of health-promoting bioactive compounds. For several decades, blueberries have gained in popularity all over the world, and recent years have seen not only an increase in fresh consumption, but also in the importance of blueberries for the processing industry. Blueberry processing mostly consists of freezing and juicing. Recently, more attention has been drawn to dewatering and drying, which are promising areas for developing novel blueberry products. Processing affects each biologically-active compound in a different way, and it is still unknown what changes those compounds undergo at the molecular level after the application of different processing technologies. This work presents the most recent state of knowledge about the pre-treatment and processing methods applied to blueberries and their influence on the content of biologically-active compounds. The presentation of methods is preceded by a brief overview of the characteristics of the blueberry species, a description of the chemical composition of the fruit and a short note about the main growing areas, production volumes and the management of fruit crops.
Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Division of Food Science, Str. Tuwima 10, Olsztyn 10-748, Poland. a.michalska@pan.olsztyn.pl.|Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Str. Chelmonskiego 37a, Wroclaw 51-630, Poland. a.michalska@pan.olsztyn.pl.
Anna
A
Michalska
Department of Pomology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Str. Dąbrowskiego 159, Poznań 60-594, Poland. glysiak@up.poznan.pl.
Grzegorz
G
Łysiak
D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D003890:Desiccation / Q000379:methods; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D061353:Food Storage / Q000379:methods*; D005612:Freeze Drying / Q000379:methods; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D009753:Nutritive Value
Vaccinium ssp.; antioxidants; drying; maturity; polyphenols processing; quality; storage