Wild Plants, Mushrooms and Nuts: Functional Food Properties and Applications [Hardcover]

Wild Plants, Mushrooms and Nuts: Functional Properties and Food Applications is a compendium of current and novel research on the chemistry, biochemistry, nutritional and pharmaceutical value of traditional food products, namely wild mushrooms, plants and nuts, which are becoming more relevant in diets, and are especially useful for developing novel health foods and in modern natural food therapies.
Topics covered will range from their nutritional value, chemical and biochemical characterization, to their multifunctional applications as food with beneficial effects on health, though their biological and pharmacological properties (antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor capacity, among others).

List of Contributors xi

Preface xv

1 Introduction: The Increasing Demand for Functional Foods 1
Nat?lia Martins, Patricia Morales, Lillian Barros, and Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

1.1 Food Patterns: A Crosssectional Approach and Brief Overview 1

1.2 Nutrition and Health: Facts and Tendencies 2

1.3 Functional Foods Diversity and Related Applications: A World of (Un)Explored Biofunctionalities 4

1.4 Functional Foods Versus Bioactive Molecules: Hierarchies and Regulatory Practices 6

1.5 Challenges and Opportunities: A Multidimensional Perspective 8

1.6 Conclusion 9

References 10

2 The Numbers Behind Mushroom Biodiversity 15
Anabela Martins

2.1 Origin and Diversity of Fungi 15

2.2 Ecological Diversity 18

2.3 Global Diversity of Soil Fungi 22

2.4 Wild Edible Fungi 24

2.5 Cultivation of Edible Fungi 38

2.6 Social and Economic Interest in EdiblӬ