Avocado Consumption and Health

Book excerpt: "Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a tropical tree native from south-central Mexico, showing nowadays an increasing commercial interest worldwide for its unique sensorial characteristics, high nutritional quality, and its medicinal uses. The global market is ruled by the exportation of the fresh fruit; but, the presence of avocado products (mainly avocado oil) is gaining interest and currently involves close to 20%, both for human and industrial (mainly cosmetic) purposes. The fruits are mostly consumed raw as guacamole, a dip traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados with salt or added as an ingredient in salads. Avocado fruit is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (mostly oleic acid) and fiber. Moreover, the fruit is rich in bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, potassium, and sitosterol. Their health properties are mostly related to the high amount of antioxidant compounds present. Thus, it is used as an auxiliary agent in the reduction of cholesterol and triglyceride levels and weight management. In the food industry, the use of avocado oil as a preservative has been explored for its high antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this book covers a wide variety of topics related to avocado fruit and avocado by-products, including their therapeutic and nutraceutical potential, their bioactive compounds, and oxidative stability. Also, new research about the characterization of avocado and avocado-based products, its conservation, and potential use as a food industrial antioxidant and antimicrobial is included as well. Finally, an interesting update of patents on avocado products related to health is also reviewed"--