311
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
B. Balabanova, T. Stafilov (eds.), Contaminant Levels and Ecological Effects,
Emerging Contaminants and Associated Treatment Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66135-9_11
Chapter 11
Chemical Composition and Nutritional
Properties of Functional Food
Violeta Ivanova Petropulos and Biljana Balabanova
Abstract Functional foods and beverages provide an extra health benefit to the
consumer beyond basic nutrition. Examples include foods that have been fortified
with beneficial nutrients or foods that are free from certain components such as
lactose or gluten-free. Also known as nutraceuticals, functional foods are highly
nutritious and associated with a number of powerful health benefits, positive effect
on certain functions in the body, in addition to its usual nutritional effect, in terms
of promoting health and reducing the risk of disease, preventing nutrient deficiencies, and promoting proper growth and development. Most of the functional food’s
products have functional properties due to the presence of one or more components
(biologically active compounds), with favorable physiological effects. A biologically active compound can be a macronutrient (resistant starch or n-3 fatty acid), a
micronutrient (vitamin or mineral), and a nonessential food ingredient that has a
certain energy value (oligosaccharides, conjugated linoleic acid, plant sterol, lycopene). Various chemical methods are used to monitor food quality, such as liquid
chromatography, gas chromatography, and atomic spectrometry, connected with
various detectors. The main reasons why chemical analyses are very important
today are time-savings, often greater accuracy in work, the ability to analyze very
small samples, and the ability to avoid often very complicated chemical
separations.
Keywords Functional food · Chemical composition · Nutrients · Analytical
techniques
V. I. Petropulos (*) · B. Balabanova
“Goce Delčev” University, Faculty of Agriculture, Štip, Republic of North Macedonia
e-mail: violeta.ivanova@ugd.edu.mk
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
B. Balabanova, T. Stafilov (eds.), Contaminant Levels and Ecological Effects,
Emerging Contaminants and Associated Treatment Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66135-9_11
Chapter 11
Chemical Composition and Nutritional
Properties of Functional Food
Violeta Ivanova Petropulos and Biljana Balabanova
Abstract Functional foods and beverages provide an extra health benefit to the
consumer beyond basic nutrition. Examples include foods that have been fortified
with beneficial nutrients or foods that are free from certain components such as
lactose or gluten-free. Also known as nutraceuticals, functional foods are highly
nutritious and associated with a number of powerful health benefits, positive effect
on certain functions in the body, in addition to its usual nutritional effect, in terms
of promoting health and reducing the risk of disease, preventing nutrient deficiencies, and promoting proper growth and development. Most of the functional food’s
products have functional properties due to the presence of one or more components
(biologically active compounds), with favorable physiological effects. A biologically active compound can be a macronutrient (resistant starch or n-3 fatty acid), a
micronutrient (vitamin or mineral), and a nonessential food ingredient that has a
certain energy value (oligosaccharides, conjugated linoleic acid, plant sterol, lycopene). Various chemical methods are used to monitor food quality, such as liquid
chromatography, gas chromatography, and atomic spectrometry, connected with
various detectors. The main reasons why chemical analyses are very important
today are time-savings, often greater accuracy in work, the ability to analyze very
small samples, and the ability to avoid often very complicated chemical
separations.
Keywords Functional food · Chemical composition · Nutrients · Analytical
techniques
V. I. Petropulos (*) · B. Balabanova
“Goce Delčev” University, Faculty of Agriculture, Štip, Republic of North Macedonia
e-mail: violeta.ivanova@ugd.edu.mk