Functional significance of underutilized high value cruciferous vegetables- an exotic gleam in the gloomy guise of their functional importance

Crucifers have long been documented for their potential therapeutic food properties and are also referred to as the super-foods. They include the crops like kale, collards, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts. These constitute the major source of secondary metabolites viz. flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, coumarins, antioxidant enzymes, terpenes. Long-term and regular consumption of these vegetables helps to fight against obesity, cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and reduces the risk of several diseases. In the raw form, the availability and bioactivity of these phytonutrients have been reported to the highest levels. The scientific confirmation of these functional benefits though needs systematic clinical documentation and most of the research efforts in the last decade are focused in this direction. Further, processing affects the availability and activity of the bioactive compounds adversely thus, appropriate methods should be adopted for processing and cooking these vegetables. In order to promote their development and sustainable conservation, methods like micropropagation, cryopreservation, in vitro conservation, tissue culture, somatic hybridization, DNA banks, mycorrhization and genetic engineering shall be adopted. Several biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported to increase the availability of the secondary metabolites significantly which can be standardized to boost their functionality. Molecular breeding approaches such as marker-assisted selection, marker-assisted back cross, generation sequencing and gene editing also hold tremendous potential for improving the yield and quality of these super-foods. This review has been conceptualized to provide in-depth knowledge about the health benefits, effects of processing, strategies to improve and conserve the underutilized cruciferous vegetables, and the developments made in the area of production, processing, and value addition of the crucifers in the last decade.(c) 2022 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Crucifers are documented for their potential therapeutic food properties and are referred to as super-foods. They have a major source of secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, coumarins, antioxidant enzymes, and terpenes. Regular consumption of these vegetables can help fight against obesity, cancer, atherosclerosis, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and reduce the risk of several diseases. However, further scientific confirmation is needed, and processing can affect the availability and activity of bioactive compounds.