China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Plant Source Foods
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Kiwifruits are exceptionally high in vitamin C and contain an array of other nutrients, notably dietary fibers, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, and folate, as well as various antioxidants, phytonutrients, and enzymes, that act to provide functional and metabolic benefits. Of particular interest are the digestive benefits for healthy individuals as well as for those with constipation and other gastrointestinal disorders, including symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. The mechanisms of action behind the gastrointestinal effects, such as changes in fecal (stool) consistency, decrease in transit time, and reduction of abdominal discomfort, relate to the water retention capacity of kiwifruit fiber, favorable changes in the human colonic microbial community and primary metabolites, as well as the naturally present proteolytic enzyme actinidin, which aids protein digestion both in the stomach and the small intestine (111). Moreover, kiwifruit alleviates symptoms of asthma, controls diabetes, lowers blood triglyceride levels, maintains cardiovascular health, and prevents macular degeneration. Kiwi skin is also rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Most people remove the fuzzy skin, but kiwis can be eaten whole with the skin after carefully scrubbing the skin with water. Kiwi is eaten fresh or prepared as juice or dessert.
Emerging Medicinal Values of Kiwifruit (Actinidia Lindl.)
Published in Mahendra Rai, Shandesh Bhattarai, Chistiane M. Feitosa, Ethnopharmacology of Wild Plants, 2021
Mira Dhakal, Shandesh Bhattarai
Kiwifruit is a nutrient-dense fruit, commonly eaten fresh, but can also be used in beverages, desserts, and as a flavouring. Kiwifruit is a good source of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamins A and E, potassium, etc. Actinidia deliciosa is a rich source of vitamin C. High levels of vitamin C in kiwifruit can improve iron bioavailability. It also contains vitamin E and a small amount of vitamin A. Kiwifruit should be considered as a part of a natural and effective dietary strategy to tackle some of the major health problems.
Kiwifruit and Cancer: An Overview of Biological Evidence
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2020
Giuseppe Lippi, Camilla Mattiuzzi
Kiwifruit (conventionally abbreviated as “kiwi”), is the edible berry of a plant belonging to the family Actinidiaceae. Among these species, Actinidia deliciosa (fuzzy kiwifruit), and Actinidia chinensis (golden kiwifruit) are those mostly used for commercial production. Although the kiwifruit is typically native of China, in the early 1940s the vineyard was exported to New Zealand and soon afterwards also to the United States. It was only in the early 1980s that kiwifruit vineyards were then exported to Europe and to the rest of the world, thus leading the way to developing a worldwide economy for this fruit (1). The current worldwide production appears limited to ten main countries, which sustain over 95% of total production. Although China remains the largest producer (2.4 million metric ton in 2016), New Zealand is the largest exporter (0.58 million metric ton in 2016), followed by Italy, Belgium, and Chile (2).
A Peptide from Kiwifruit Exerts Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Celiac Disease Mucosa
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2019
Ilaria Russo, Chiara Del Giorno, Ivana Giangrieco, Najla Hajji, Maria Antonietta Ciardiello, Paola Iovino, Carolina Ciacci
Some food components, including plant polyphenols, vitamins, and fatty acids, may have a role in the nutritional therapy of gut inflammation (9, 10). Among plant foods, kiwifruit is one of the best sources of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, polyphenols, and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity component (11). In fact, it seems that the consumption of a kiwifruit (100–150 g) is sufficient to provide the entire daily dosage of antioxidants recommended for the human diet. Several health-promoting effects have been associated with kiwifruits, such as anticancer and antimicrobial activity (12), protection against DNA damage (13), cardiovascular protective properties (14), and antidiabetic function (15). Kiwifruit is a plant food displaying some molecular peculiarities. In fact, kiwifruit also contains protein molecules not reported in other fruits so far. For instance, the nutraceutical peptide kissper (16) has been detected in green kiwifruit only. Kissper is a 39-residue peptide deriving from the proteolytic processing of the precursor kiwellin, a two-domain protein (17) found in very high amounts in kiwifruit (18, 19). The protease actinidin 7catalyzes the kiwellin processing, thus producing KiTH and kissper, corresponding to the C-terminal and N-terminal domains, respectively (20). The kissper showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in experiments carried out in human models such as cultured intestinal cells and ex vivo colonic tissues from subjects suffering from Crohn's disease (21). However, the effect of kissper in Crohn’s disease was impressive and we hypothesized it might work also in more site of the gut and possibly also in a different type of inflammation. As matter of fact, the kissper, like other dietary components, may exert some effects on inflammation in the gut by a nonspecific mechanism. Other substances (cranberry, for example) have a similar nonspecific effect (9–16). The hypothesis is made that a modification of nutrition, adding a nutraceutical food, may be useful in any gut inflammatory condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and celiac disease.