Evaluation of the nutritionally significant bioactive components of some major vegetable and fruit species Research Group

The “Evaluation of the nutritionally significant bioactive components of some major vegetable and fruit species” Research Group aims to advance knowledge in the field of nutrients of selected fruit and vegetable species by Institute of Horticultural Science. It pursues innovative studies of an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to Numerous components of vegetables and fruits play important role in promoting human health such as vitamins, phenolic contents, carotenoids, fibers and minerals. The amount of these bioactive compounds in the edible parts of these plants depend on many factors such as environment (climatic conditions, stress effects, etc.), plant species and cultivar, time of the season, etc. Traditional Hungarian fruits and vegetables proved to have outstanding inner qualities, chemical analyses, clinical tests confirmed their effectiveness.

In today's fast-paced world, environmental pollutants (water and air pollution, household and industrial chemicals) and oxidative stress caused by changing lifestyles are putting increased strain on the human body, leading to an increased need for health-preserving and restorative foods. Fruits, vegetables and mushrooms, rich in bioactive compounds, in fresh or processed form, are excellent in neutralizing reactive oxygen species.

Cultivated mushrooms are prominent players in modern nutrition, and moreover, they are one of the horticultural protein sources that can be grown with the least amount of water. In addition to human benefits, its bioactive substances can also be used in animal feed.
The growing technology has to support that the concentration of these bioactive phytonutrients should be at a proper level in the products. Besides, quick and non-destructive quality assessment is also important to replace analytical measurements with acceptable accuracy. Infrared spectroscopy has great potential to fulfill this goal, but the evaluation of the usability of somatoinfra technology for this purpose is a completely new approach.

The project will enable us to emerge important generalizations across bioactivity testing, we can determine which antioxidant capacity varies among cultivars and their differences under different growing conditions. By addressing fundamental theoretical concepts of our results will provide a basis for understanding further biotic and abiotic effects, the influence of cultivation elements on nutrient content. Advice on varieties, crop management strategies and processing methods will be available for each crop. The use of IR imaging could also lead to the development of a non-destructive measurement method.

The “Horticulture” Research Group aims to advance knowledge in the field of horticultural science by 2026. It pursues innovative studies of the fruit and vegetable crops. We use an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to understand the effect of biotic and abiotic stress. The project will enable us to emerge important generalizations across different crop species and environmental conditions. By addressing fundamental theoretical concepts of plant physiology and stress response mechanisms, we will advance our understanding of plant resilience and productivity under varying conditions. We will significantly improve our ability to develop strategies for sustainable horticulture and crop management.