Biography
Biography: Amna Elgaali
Abstract
There is no universally accepted definition of functional foods; however, there’s several organizations have defined this emerging food category. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) defines functional foods as foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Health Canada defines it as “similar in appearance to a conventional food, but with benefits, and/or to reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions”. According to these definitions, unmodified whole foods such as fruits and vegetables represent the simplest form of a functional food. Africa has an abundant plant species which are known to be rich in health promoting compounds, many of which remain undiscovered or unused by the western society, Such as Guddaim, the chemical analysis and nutritional properties of this fruits investigationshowed this fruit contained a lot of important nutrients and nutritional value, beneficial to human health, Generally, the present study indicated that guddaim fruits possess good nutritional value, as they contains reasonable amount of iron this is explain why Sudanese population consume it to treat anaemia. Hibiscus also is used to treat high blood pressure. Gum Arabic, this generous plant has been reported to be used internally for the treatment of inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Recently, a report from Sudan assessed that serum creatinine, urea, phosphate and uric acid concentrations were reported to be significantly reduced on the patients with Chronic Renal Failure on a low-protein diet. Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) which provides a variety of important nutrients including vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and has many uses, such as medicine, food, and beverages, due to its content of rich in pectin and vitamin C. Further researches show potent nutritional value of traditional plant, such as Tamarind,
Doum, and okra.