TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page    –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         i

Certification           –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         ii

Dedication   –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         iii

Acknowledgements         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         iv

Table of Contents  –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         v

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION – –         –         –         –         –         –         1

1.1     The Vegetables      –         –         –         –         –         –         –         1-4

1.2     History of Vegetables      –         –         –         –         –         –         4-6

1.3     Some Common Vegetables        –         –         –         –         –         6-8

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 Production of Vegetables     –         –         –         –         –         –         9

2.1.1  Cultivation   –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         9-10

2.1.2  Harvesting   –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         10-11

2.1.3  Storage        –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         11-13

2.1.4  Preservation           –         –         –         –         –         –         –         13-15

2.2     Classification of Vegetables       –         –         –         –         –         16

2.2.1  Classification Based on Hardiness or Temperature  –         –         16-17

2.2.2  Classification Based on Plant Part Used        –         –         –         17-18

2.2.3  Classification Based on Culture –         –         –         –         –         18-20

2.2.4  Classification Based on Life Cycle      –         –         –         –         21

CHAPTER THREE

3.0     Vegetables and Its Health Benefit        –         –         –         –         22-24

3.1     Health Benefiting Properties of Vegetables   –         –         –         24-28

3.1.1  Vitamins      –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         28-29

3.1.2  Minerals       –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         29-31

3.1.3  Dietary Fiber         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         31-32

3.1.4  Antioxidants          –         –         –         –         –         –         –         32-33

3.1.5  Carotenoids           –         –         –         –         –         –         –         33

3.1.6  Flavonoids   –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         34-35

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1     Conclusion  –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         36

4.2     Recommendations –         –         –         –         –         –         –         36

References

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     INTRODUCTION

1.1     The Vegetables

Vegetables contribute a major source of nutraceuticals for well-balanced human diet. Since they contribute a crucial source of nutraceuticals in daily human life. The nutraceuticals are the substances found as a natural component of foods or other ingestible forms that have been determined to be beneficial to the human body in preventing or treating one or more diseases or in improving physiological performance beyond adequate nutritional affects in a way that is relevant to either improved stage of health and well-being and reduction of risk of disease. These components can be beneficial antioxidants, natural colorants (e.g. carotenoids), minerals, vitamins, which often have added advantages. The promotion of healthy vegetables product has coincided with a surging consumer interested in the healthy functionality of food (Bellary et al., 2011).

Vegetables are grown worldwide in almost 200 countries and make up a major portion of the diet of humans in many parts of the world. Wide range of climate and physio-geographical conditions around world ensures availability of most kind of vegetables. Total vegetable production in the world has been estimated to be 486 metric tons, respectively (Rubatzky and Yamagulhi, 2021). India is the second largest producer of the vegetables (176.177 Million tonnes) in the world (National Horticulture Board, 2016-2017). Many vegetable commodities meet human caloric demands because of the carbohydrates they contain, and legume crop are especially valuable source of essential amino acids. Leafy and other vegetables are also good suppliers of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Vegetables can play an even more important role in the nutritional quality of diets.

A high vegetable diet has been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease in humans (Mullie and Clary, 2011). Low vegetable intake, in unbalanced diets, has been estimated to cause about 31% of ischaemic heart disease and 11% of stroke worldwide. According to the 2007 World Health Report unbalanced diets with low vegetable intake and low consumption of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber are estimated to cause some 2.7 million deaths each year, and were among the top 10 risk factors contributing to mortality (Dias, 2012).The exact mechanisms by which vegetable consumption reduces human diseases have not yet been fully understood, however the general consensus among physicians and nutritionists is that phyto nutraceuticals reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer.

In many areas of the world, increased consumption of vegetables has been stimulated by a growing apprehend of the health implications of diets high in vegetables, along with an increasing variety of vegetables for consumption. A world survey showed that at least 402 vegetables are cultivated and commercialized worldwide (Dia Silva Dias  and Imai, 2017).

To facilitate change in consumer behaviour for increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, a wide variety of health, promotional and social marketing interventions have been conducted around the world for more than a decade. However, the success of these initiatives, measured in terms of increase in daily consumption per person per serve, remains modest. Overall, it can be safely stated that, there is an increasing awareness among the general public of the advantages of diets rich in vegetables to ensure an adequate intake of most vitamins and micronutrients, dietary fibers, and phytochemicals that promote health.

1.2     History of Vegetables

Before the advent of agriculture, humans were hunter-gatherers. They foraged for edible fruit, nuts, stems, leaves, corms, and tubers and hunted animals for food (Portera et al., 2007). Forest gardening in a tropical jungle clearing is thought to be the first example of agriculture; useful plant species were identified and encouraged to grow while undesirable species were removed. Plant breeding through the selection of strains with desirable traits such as large fruit and vigorous growth soon followed (Douglas, 1992). While the first evidence for the domestication of grasses such as wheat and barley has been found in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, it is likely that various peoples around the world started growing crops in the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC (The Development of Agriculture, 2015-2016). Subsistence agriculture continues to this day, with many rural farmers in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere using their plots of land to produce enough food for their families, while any surplus produce is used for exchange for other goods (Wharton, 1970).

Throughout recorded history, the rich have been able to afford a varied diet including meat, vegetables and fruit, but for poor people, meat was a luxury and the food they ate was very dull, typically comprising mainly some staple product made from rice, rye, barley, wheat, millet or maize. The addition of vegetable matter provided some variety to the diet. The staple diet of the Aztecs in Central America was maize and they cultivated tomatoes, avocados, beans, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, peanuts, and amaranth seeds to supplement their tortillas and porridge. In Peru, the Incas subsisted on maize in the lowlands and potatoes at higher altitudes. They also used seeds from quinoa, supplementing their diet with peppers, tomatoes, and avocados (Lambert, 2015).

In Ancient China, rice was the staple crop in the south and wheat in the north, the latter made into dumplings, noodles, and pancakes. Vegetables used to accompany theseincluded yams, soybeans, broad beans, turnips, spring onions, and garlic. The diet of the ancient Egyptians was based on bread, often contaminated with sand which wore away their teeth. Meat was a luxury but fish was more plentiful. These were accompanied by a range of vegetables including marrows, broad beans, lentils, onions, leeks, garlic, radishes, and lettuces (Lambert, 2015).

The mainstay of the Ancient Greek diet was bread, and this was accompanied by goat’s cheese, olives, figs, fish, and occasionally meat. The vegetables grown included onions, garlic, cabbages, melons, and lentils (Apel, Melanie, 2004). In Ancient Rome, a thick porridge was made of emmer wheat or beans, accompanied by green vegetables but little meat, and fish was not esteemed. The Romans grew broad beans, peas, onions and turnips and ate the leaves of beets rather than their roots (Forbes,  1965).