The area of health benefits from fruit and vegetables is one that has been the focus of increasingly intense research effort over the last 10–20 years. Consequently, this explosion of effort has meant that, for both nascent and experienced researchers, there is a requirement for books such as this one, which identifies the phytochemical derivation of health benefits in fruit and vegetables and the specific human conditions and pathologies impacted.

The authors cover the major global fruit and vegetables and their impact on a plethora of human health benefits with cancer and cardiovascular as the main targets for bioefficacy, but with benefits identified for other conditions such as metabolic diseases (allium), neuroprotection (blueberries, blackcurrant and raspberries), urinary tract infection (cranberry) and pulmonary function and asthma (pome fruit). For all the fruit and vegetables there is also a useful section outlining the pre- and post-harvest factors impacting bioactive content and diversity.

In addition, the authors close the book with two short but packed chapters dealing with the isolation and characterisation of bioactives and their bioefficacy evaluation in in vitro and in vivo systems. The latter is particularly detailed and well referenced.

My only criticism with the book is the over emphasis on antioxidant content in relation to bioactivity. In many cases this characteristic of phytochemicals is increasingly being shown not to be the derivation of bioactivity with more subtle mechanisms at work. However, this is a minor complaint for an otherwise excellent book that will be valuable for all researchers in the field of plant- and crop-derived human health benefits.