Bioactive Compounds from Multifarious Natural Foods for Human Health: Foods and Medicinal Plants

Divided into two sections, the volume first examines health claims of food-based bioactive compounds, which are extranutritional constituents that typically occur in small quantities in foods. This section lays out the concepts of extraction of food-based bioactive molecules, along with both conventional and modernized extraction techniques, as well as the available sources, biochemistry, structural composition, and potential biological activities of bioactive compounds. The book goes to present new research on health claims of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants, their importance, and health perspectives.

Both sections cover the various pharmacological and therapeutic aspects of bioactive compounds, along with their methods of extraction, their phytochemistry, their pharmacological and biological activities, their medicinal properties, and their applications for disease management and prevention. Among the specific foods and plants included are soybean, durum wheat, avocado, watermelon, blueberries, macro and micro algae, bitter cucumber (or Citrullus colocynthis), black myrobalan, clove, flaxseed, and even industrial waste from cereal bran.

This book volume sheds new light on the potential of natural and plant-based foods for human health from different technological aspects, contributing to the ocean of knowledge on food science and technology. This compendium will be useful for students, researchers, and industry professsionals in the study of functional foods.

Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria, PhD, is the McKenzie Fellow at the School of Agriculture and Food in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, Australia. He was formerly the Alfred Deakin Research Fellow at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. He did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetic and Health at Kansas State University, USA. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Diamantina Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Dr. Suleria has been awarded an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and the Australian Postgraduate Award for his PhD research at the UQ School of Medicine and the Translational Research Institute in collaboration with the Commonwealth and Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia. Before joining the UQ, he worked as a lecturer in the Department of Food Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan. He also worked as a research associate in the PAK-US Joint Project funded by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, and Department of State, USA, with collaboration of the University of Massachusetts, USA, and the National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. Dr. Suleria has published more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific papers in professional journals and has co-edited several books. He is also affiliated with more than ten universities where he is working as a co-supervisor/special member for PhD and postgraduate students. His major research focus is on food nutrition, particularly in screening of bioactive molecules, including isolation, purification, and characterization using various cutting-edge techniques from different plants, marine, and animal sources; in vitro, in vivo bioactivities; and cell culture and animal modeling.

, is a Retired Professor in Agricultural and Biomedical Engineering from the General Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico–Mayaguez Campus. He has worked as a Soil Conservation Inspector and as a Research Assistant at Haryana Agricultural University and Ohio State University. He was the first agricultural engineer to receive the professional license in Agricultural Engineering from the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico, and was proclaimed the "Father of Irrigation Engineering in Puerto Rico for the Twentieth Century" by the ASABE, Puerto Rico Section, for his pioneering work on micro irrigation, evapotranspiration, agroclimatology, and soil and water engineering. During his professional career of over 52 years, he has received many prestigious awards. A prolific author and editor, he has written more than 200 journal articles and several textbooks and has edited over 85 books.

, is an Assistant Professor at Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Punjab-Pakistan. She holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology with a specialization is cereal technology. Dr. Ul Ain has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers in different reputed/impacted journals and 10 international book chapters. She also has 16 international abstracts in international conferences. She has attended various trainings and conferences and has memberships in national and international organizations and platforms. She has done three-month internship at Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, and a six-month internship at the School of Nutrition and United Hospital Faisalabad. Dr. Ul Ain received her BS degree in Food Science and Technology from the University of Sargodha, Pakistan, and her MPhil and PhD degrees from the Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab-Pakistan. During her PhD program, she worked as a visiting lecturer for a year at the Government College University, Faisalabad, Punjab-Pakistan. Her PhD specialization and topic is "Isolation and characterization of cereal cell wall with special reference to amelioration of soluble dietary fiber."