Agroecosystem Management and Nutritional Quality of Plant Foods: The Case of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Brandt, Kirsten; Leifert, Carlo; Sanderson, Roy; Seal, Chris

doi:10.1080/07352689.2011.554417

Cited by 208 publications

(232 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…In addition, 89 % of the species used to treat symptoms of malaria among the Hausa people in Nigeria are also used in their diets (82) . Dietary habits in human subjects play a crucial role at ensuring proper and regular consumption of preventive chemicals such as antioxidants (83)(84)(85) . Mammalian herbivores selecting certain PSC or arrays of PSC in their diets may incur in low to nil costs when toxicity of the PSC at moderate doses is inherently low or nil and when PSC provide additional benefits such as those described for condensed tannins on protein nutrition.…”

Section: Experience Shaping the Intensity Of Costs And Benefits Durinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

2016

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Many plant tissues contain plant secondary compounds (PSC), which have long been recognised as defensive chemicals that deter herbivory via their toxic effects. However, herbivores may also benefit from including PSC into their diets. Plant-derived phenolics, terpenes and alkaloids have antiparasitic properties and sesquiterpene lactones have antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. These actions are in part a consequence of the negative actions that PSC exert across several trophic levels, including the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores' bodies. Given the dual action, toxin and medicine, it is possible to hypothesise that self-selection of PSC by herbivores should occur when the benefits outweigh the costs of PSC ingestion. Recent research suggests that sheep and goats self-medicate against parasitic infections. They increase preference for condensed tannin-containing foods when experiencing a parasitic burden. This behaviour improves health; it is triggered by parasitism and weakens when parasitism subsides. However, the causes underlying these responses are not straightforward when viewed under a unidimensional cost-benefit analysis. This is because the intensity of antinutritional/toxic and medicinal effects of PSC is not static or just dependent upon the isolated post-ingestive effects of single PSC. Nutrient-PSC and PSC-PSC interactions, social models, as well as feeding patterns, all influence the perceived net benefit of incorporating medicines into a diet. A better understanding of the net benefit of self-medication in complex feeding environments will allow for the development of innovative managing strategies aimed at providing the food alternatives and conditions for improving the nutrition, health and welfare of grazing animals.

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Section: Experience Shaping the Intensity Of Costs And Benefits Durinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

2016

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“…Herein, transcriptional induction of the phenylpropanoid pathway, known for its important role in the interaction between plants and the environment, was found in organically grown tubers in 2007 (Figure 2), when the plants exhibited, to some extent, the symptoms of Phytophtora infestans infection, with a high severity at the 15th week after planting (1, in the Malcomson 1−9 scale; data not shown). As reported in a review by Brandt et al [29], the plants managed by organic practices have necessarily to cope more frequently with pathogens, and accordingly accumulate more defence-related compounds than conventionally produced tubers. Among these defence compounds, phenylpropanoids are extensively studied because of their association with health-promoting effects, mainly related to their antioxidant activity [30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Influence of Organic Farming on the Potato Transcriptome

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Organic agriculture sparks a lively debate on its potential health and environmental benefits. Comparative studies often investigate the response of crops to organic farming through targeted approaches and within a limited experimental work. To clarify this issue, the transcriptomic profile of a cultivar of the potato grown for two years under organic and conventional farming was compared with the profile of an experimental clone grown in the same location of Southern Italy for one year. Transcriptomic raw data were obtained through Potato Oligo Chip Initiative (POCI) microarrays and were processed using unsupervised coupling multivariate statistical analysis and bioinformatics (MapMan software). One-hundred-forty-four genes showed the same expression in both years, and 113 showed the same expression in both genotypes. Their functional characterization revealed the strong involvement of the farming system in metabolism associated with the nutritional aspects of organic tubers (e.g., phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, glycoalcaloid, asparagine, ascorbic acid). Moreover, further investigation showed that eight of 42,034 features exhibited the same trend of expression irrespective of the year and genotype, making them possible candidates as markers of traceability. This paper raises the issue regarding the choice of genotype in organic management and the relevance of assessing seasonal conditions effects when studying the effects of organic cultivation on tuber metabolism.

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“…(2001) reported that concentration of vitamin C was either equal (about 50% of the studies) or higher (also about 50% of the studies) in organic potatoes. One mechanism suggested for reduced vitamin C content in conventionally produced products as compared to those grown under organic farming is that increasing availability of plant available nitrogen in conventional farming reduces the accumulation of defense-related secondary metabolites and vitamin C (Brandt et al, 2011). The total phenolics content assay in the fruit samples is a measure of the bioactive compound present in pineapples as affected by the two different farming systems.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional attributes, bioactive components and overall acceptability of pineapple grown under different farming system

Mishra

2017

JANS

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Nutritional attributes, bioactive components and sensory qualities of pineapple (kew variety) grown under fertilizer based and traditional (organic by default) farming system were determined and compared in this study. The results revealed that organically grown (without adding any chemical inputs as per traditional practices) pineapple had significantly higher bioactive components (vitamin c and total soluble phenolics ranging from 23.19 % to 24.04 % and 28.69 mg/100g FW to 29.54 mg/100g fresh weight (FW) respectively for organically grown fruits and 19.84% to 20.01% and 21.32 mg/100g FW to 21.93 mg/100g FW respectively in conventionally grown in fruits). The study also reports that the organically grown pineapples had significantly higher overall acceptability (4.5 and 4.3 in 2013 and 2014 respectively) and popularity (4.26 and 4.32 in 2013 and 2014 respectively) as compared to the pineapples grown under conventional farming system using fertilizers (2.8 overall acceptability in 2013 and 2014; 2.96 and 2.86 popularity in 2013 and 2014 respectively).

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Agroecosystem Management and Nutritional Quality of Plant Foods: The Case of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Cited by 208 publications

References 134 publications

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

Phytochemicals in animal health: diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

Influence of Organic Farming on the Potato Transcriptome

Nutritional attributes, bioactive components and overall acceptability of pineapple grown under different farming system

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