Abstract
Peach (Prunus persica) belongs to Rosaceae family and believed to have originated in China 8000 years back, although it was thought that peach is native to Persia. Now it is grown in many temperature zones of the world between latitudes 30° and 45° North and South. The peach is round juicy fruit, which is yellow or furry red in colour with a fuzzy peel and has a large hard seed in centre. The shape of the fruit varies from beaked, round to flat. Peaches are classified into two types—freestone and clingstones—depending upon the flesh sticking to the stones or not. The fruit can be eaten raw and processed into different products. It is highly nutritious with a lot of phytochemicals, which are beneficial for health. Several studies have reported that these health beneficial characteristics are attributed to different bioactive components. The important bioactive compounds present in peach include phenolics, carotenoids and ascorbic acid. These compounds are responsible for antioxidant activity and thus helpful in preventing several diseases. The phenolic compounds that have been isolated and identified in peach fruits are categorized into anthocyanins, flavanols, phenolic acids and flavonols.
Keywords
- Peach
- Phytochemicals
- Antioxidant activity
- Phenolic acids
- Anthocyanins
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Hans, M., Shah, M.A., Bansal, R. (2020). Peach. In: Nayik, G.A., Gull, A. (eds) Antioxidants in Fruits: Properties and Health Benefits. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_23
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