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Nuts and Dried Fruits Potential as Functional Foods

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Functional Properties of Traditional Foods

Abstract

The main goal of this chapter is to evaluate the potential functional properties of nuts and dried fruits cultivated in Portugal, contributing for the valorization of the national species, increasing of local products consumption, and local environment and socio-economic sustainability. This work contributes also to value a Mediterranean diet, including the regular consumption of nuts and dried fruits.

After a national and international market evaluation of the fruits under study (e.g., almond, hazelnut, walnut, chestnut, pine, carob, dried fig, dried pear, dried grape, and prune), a nutritional characterization was performed as well as a functional properties analysis.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Chemical reaction between an amino acid or protein and a reduced sugar.

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Correspondence to Cristina L. M. Silva .

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Magalhães, M., Santos, D., Castro, S.M., Silva, C.L.M. (2016). Nuts and Dried Fruits Potential as Functional Foods. In: Kristbergsson, K., Ötles, S. (eds) Functional Properties of Traditional Foods. Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7662-8_21

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