The interest in phytochemicals found in plant foods as bioactive components of the diet has expanded in the last few years. This is because they have been linked with the prevention or reduced progression of many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and degenerative diseases. Oxidative stress, which could bring about oxidative damage to DNA, protein and lipids has been found to be a major factor in the aetiology of these diseases. Epidemiological evidence shows that observed health benefits of these plant foods on humans, especially fruits and vegetables, are due to the presence of bioactive phytochemicals which today, play an important role in pharmaceutical applications. Research shows that these compounds modulate the risk of chronic disease development by inhibiting reactions mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Consequently, strong recommendations for their ingestion through the diet have become increasingly popular to improve man's health. This article presents a review of the role of nutraceuticals, functional foods and value added food products in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. We also summarized the biotechnological approaches for enhancing the level of these bioactive compounds in plants, with a view to improve their nutraceutical value and phytotherapy efficiency.

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Recently, food-security and sustainability have become a serious global concern, leading to malnutrition in the developing countries. Winged bean is an underutilized and neglected legume indigenous to Africa. In this study, we evaluated in vitro and in vivo nutritional properties of processed and unprocessed winged bean. Furthermore, we investigated impact of dietary intake of winged bean diets on biochemical factors pertaining to body weight gain, lipid profiles, antioxidant enzymes, and liver and kidney functions of experimental rats over a 6-week study period. Twenty-one rats were divided into three groups (n = 7), and fed with three diets (normal pellet diet, pure processed winged bean alone, and 50% w/w processed winged bean). Our results show higher nitrogen free extract in the processed winged bean than the unprocessed one. A significant difference (P > 0.05) in moisture content was observed between the unprocessed and processed winged bean. The levels of phytate and oxalate in the processed winged bean were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced. However, saponin and tannins levels were increased in the processed winged bean. The calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, and potassium contents observed in the processed winged bean were higher than the unprocessed winged bean. The higher weight gain was observed in the rats fed with 100% winged bean as compared to the other groups. Lipid profiles analysis revealed decreased cholesterol and triglycerides levels with an increase level of HDL in the rats fed on 100% winged bean as well as 50% w/w winged bean diet as compared to the control group. The liver and colon catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the processed winged bean diet. It can therefore be concluded that the consumption of processed winged bean could reduce the menace of malnutrition, and also use as a substitute for soybean.

Salt stress is a major challenge in agricultural system. In this study, okra seeds of two genotypes (47-7 and LD 88) were presoaked with 10 -2 , 10 -4, and 10 -6 mM salicylic acid and control in distilled water, then the soil was treated with 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl. The experiment was conducted to study the effect on osmoregulating solutes such as proline, salt stress protein (glycine betaine and proline betaine) and soluble sugars (glucose and fructose). Results showed that proline content increased with increased in the concentrations of salinity. Also, treatment with salicylic acid (SA) improved salt stress proteins accumulation in both stressed genotypes. In contrast, decreased SA concentrations improved soluble sugar accumulation in the fruit of okra genotype 47-4. But in LD88, increased in the level of SA resulted to the increased soluble sugar accumulation in the leaf. Combined effect of SA and salinity caused a greater accumulation of protein and soluble sugar in leaf and fruit of both genotypes of stressed okra, but significant increased were seen only in the groups of LD88 treated with 10 -4 mM SA at 50 mM NaCl in leaf and 10 -2 mM SA at 150 mM NaCl in fruit when compared with the control group. Salinity induced a marked decreased in reducing sugar accumulation of okra plant (LD88), especially at high salinity level (200 mM NaCl). Therefore, accumulations of compatible solutes such as salt stress proteins may provide plant a storage form of nitrogen that will be re-utilized later and may play a role in osmotic adjustment.