Novel functional foods from vegetable matrices impregnated with biologically active compounds

Functional foods affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond adequate nutritional effects, to either improve stage of health and well-being and/or reduce the risk of disease. Lastly, the range of functional foods has grown tremendously. One of the main objectives of the multinational collaborative project entitled “Emerging preservation techniques for foods of concern in Ibero-America” (CYTED Program), carried out from 1999 to 2004, was to analyze the feasibility of atmospheric and/or in vacuum impregnation treatments to incorporate physiologically active compounds into plant tissues without destroying the initial food matrix. This contribution brings together report of progress in the development of functional fruit and vegetable matrices enriched with probiotics and minerals (calcium and zinc). Main aspects discussed are the kinetics of matrix fortification, the viability of some active compounds and the interactions between calcium, the cell structure and the mechanical properties of fruit and vegetable tissues. Vacuum and/or atmospheric impregnation techniques seem to be feasible technologies for exploitations of fruit and vegetable tissues as new matrices into which functional ingredients can be successfully incorporated, providing novel functional product categories and new commercial opportunities.