Edited by F. A. Tomás-Barberán , Laboratorio de Fitoquimica, Murcia, Spain, and R. J. Robins , Faculté des Sciences, Nantes, France.

Includes the latest findings from research into the effects of genetic manipulation
Examines the technological advances in the cultivation, selection, and preservation of fruit and vegetables

This book addresses the highly topical questions of the roles of fresh fruits and vegetables in a healthy well balanced diet, and in the prevention of cancer and coronary diseases. Recent advanced in genetic engineering and in the chemistry and biochemistry of fruit and vegetables have radically changed our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these processes and the potential for modification of the products themselves.

Contents: Phytochemistry of fruit and vegetables; Carotenoids from fruit and vegetables; Molecular interactions of phenolic compounds in relation to the colour fruit and vegetables; Phenolic compounds and oxidative mechanisms in fruit and vegetables; Astringency; Fruit aroma precursors with special reference to phenolics; Aroma biochemistry of fruit and vegetables; The psychology of food choice: the influence of attitudes and flavour perception; Coumarins in fruit and vegetables; Physical and physiological changes in minimally processed fruit and vegetables; Role of phytoalexins and other antimicrobial compounds from fruits and vegetables in post-harvest disease resistance; ACC oxidase gene family: Characterization and down regulation by genetic manipulation; Options for the genetic manipulation of astringent and antinutritional metabolites in fruit and vegetables; Gibberellins and fruit development; The possible role of antioxidants in fruit and vegetables in protecting against coronary heart disease; Potentially anticarcinogenic secondary metabolites from fruit and vegetables; Toxic compounds from fruit and vegetables. An ecological overview.

398 pages, halftones, line figures, tables, Clarendon Press, January 1997 0-19-857790-7, Hardback, was £75.00, now £56.25