The article deals with the concept of functional nutrition, the prospects for the use of fruit and berry products in the production of functional products. The issues of biochemical assessment of black currant, red currant, remontant varieties of garden raspberries, edible honeysuckle, high blueberries as a source of production of functional food products are considered. Experimental data on the content of biologically active substances (organic acids, total sugars, ascorbic acid, pectin, P-active substances) in fresh fruits of promising varieties are presented. The best varieties with a high content of antioxidants are selected: ascorbic acid (the black currant Carmelita, Green haze, the red currant Vixne, Marmalade; the remantant raspberry Atlant, Hercules, Orange miracle; the edible honeysuckle Kamchadalka, Cinderella, Gzhel early, Nymph and the high blueberry Herbert, Coville); pectin (the red currant Jonker van Tets, Generous); the remantant raspberry Orange miracle; the honeysuckle Kamchadalka, Cinderella, Nymph, Gzhel early); p-active ingredients (the black currant Green haze, Tamerlane; the honeysuckle Berel, Galochka and the high blueberry Blue crop, Herbert, Coville).

Vegetable oil is essential in everyday life of people. Lately, peonies are being widely used in food-processing industry of China – the seeds are processed for oil which is actively used as a food product, containing more than 90% unsaturated fatty acids. The problem of healthy eating is becoming more and more urgent. The task of Russian Federation science and all branches of AIC (agro-industrial complex) is to satisfy the physiological requirements of population in high-quality, biologically complete and safe food products. Production of peony oil in Russia would be of great importance for the economy of our country, as it is ecologically pure and safe food product for human health. In the article we researched the peculiarities of seed propagation and possible reasons for seed dormancy in some Paeonia L. genus. We carried out some bio-chemical tests in order to define the content of peroxidase enzyme, lignin and cellulose in seed peel. We also examined the intensity of photosynthesis and transpiration in 5 species of Paeonia L. genus: P. tenuifolia L., P. suffruticosa Andrews, P. lactiflora Pall., P. anomala L., P. mlokosewitschii Lomak. It was defined that the highest photosynthesis intensity can be observed in P. tenuifolia L. (86.1 mg/dm2h). Then P. mlokosevitschii Lomak. (65.1 mg/dm2h), P. suffruticosa Andrews. (59.3 mg/dm2h), P. anomala L. (32.8 mg/dm2h), P. lactiflora Pall. (2.15 mg/dm2h) follow. The examined species of Paeonia L. genus have high indices of photosynthesis intensity, and are able to adapt to changes in environment. The photosynthesis intensity is known to be one of the most important indices of high seed productivity and yielding capacity. We recommend using peony seeds in food industry for production of quality peony oil.

Lonicera edulis L. occupies a special place among sparsely distributed garden crops in the middle horticulture zone of Russia. The main advantages of the culture are its long maturation period, long fruiting period, high plasticity, value of the biochemical composition of berries. The paper presents experimental data on the biochemical composition of honeysuckle berries of the new generation introduced under the conditions of the Central Chernozem Region. Varieties with high levels of soluble dry substances, sugars, ascorbic acid, flavonols are noted. Prospects of obtaining functional food products using fresh honeysuckle fruits are considered. “Honeysuckle” fruit drink and low-calorie jams with high antioxidant activity are obtained.

The paper analyzes the possibility of not only expanding the range of healthy food products, but also reducing its cost due to the combination of natural animal and plant raw materials. The possibility of introducing an innovative approach to the creation of products aimed at healthy nutrition was considered. It was found that the inclusion of plant additives into traditional meat-containing products will not only contribute to high quality products, but also products with increased nutritional and biological value. It was proved that the inclusion of plant ingredients ensures products with functional properties, high physicochemical and organoleptic indices. It was revealed that the proposed technological scheme and formula of a new type of meat-containing semi-product in dough with the introduction of vegetal raw materials will make the product more functional. The obtained results showed that the inclusion of wheat bran, nettle and onions in minced white meat will make it possible to enrich the product with essential nutrients. The obtained results of the study show that the combination of natural and plant raw materials makes it possible to obtain a product with high quality at a low cost aimed at improving the health of large population groups.

It is known that vegetables are sources of vitamins, biologically active substances, antioxidants and other vital micronutrients. In particular, pumpkin vegetable crops (zucchini, squash) contain all the necessary mineral salts, vitamins, trace elements, pectin substances, ascorbic acid and not too many sugars. Varieties of vegetable crops are characterized by a diverse biochemical composition and are suitable to various degrees for obtaining processed products for therapeutic, preventive and functional purposes. The article considers the assortment of zucchini and squash by yield and the most important indicators of the biochemical composition of the fruit: the content of dry substances, sugars, vitamin C; the accumulation of nitrates in the fruit. High water content of zucchini and squash fruits (94-96%), low sugar content ( 1.5-3.5%) were found. Squash has a higher yield (25-90 t / ha), compared to zucchini (4-11 t/ha). Nevertheless, zucchini contain 3-4 times more vitamin C in the fruit and accumulate 3-4 times less nitrates than squash, having almost 10 times more of vitamin value. At the same time, squash is 2-3 times less than zucchini, accumulating nitrates. Of the 7 studied varieties of zucchini, the hybrid Belogor F1 and the variety Tsukesha were distinguished, which have high yield, high fruit quality and vitamin value. Of the 15 studied varieties of squash, the varieties Perlinka, Pyatachok and Tabolinsky were identified, which have high yields, high fruit qualities and vitamin value, and weakly accumulate nitrates.