African Green Leafy Vegetables Health Benefits Beyond Nutrition

African green leafy vegetables (ALVs) are rich sources of nutrients and health-promoting bioactive metabolites that possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties that will assist in reducing the development of noncommunicable diseases. Irrespective of their reported health-promoting properties, ALVs face challenges of their use in food systems particularly the mainstream markets/urban consumers due to poor insights and lack of knowledge on their health benefits. Therefore, the review aims at providing information that promotes increased utilization and consumption of ALVs as not only a source of nutrients but antioxidants and other beneficial bioactive components using cellular models.

Automated summary

African green leafy vegetables (ALVs) are rich sources of nutrients and health-promoting bioactive metabolites that possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, which can help reduce the development of noncommunicable diseases. Despite their health-promoting properties, ALVs face challenges in their use in food systems, particularly among mainstream markets and urban consumers, due to poor insights and lack of knowledge on their health benefits. Therefore, the review aims to provide information promoting the increased utilization and consumption of ALVs as sources not only of nutrients but also antioxidants and other beneficial bioactive components, using cellular models.