Healthy Drinks with Lovely Colors: Phenolic Compounds as Constituents of Functional Beverages

• Main Authors: Teresa Pinto, Alice Vilela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Beverages
• Subjects: nutraceutical properties; human health; phenolic compounds; fermented beverages; nonfermented beverages
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/7/1/12

Consumers increasingly prefer and seek food and beverages, which, due to their natural characteristics, bring health benefits, both in the prevention of diseases and in their curative power. In this way, the production of nutraceutical foods and beverages gains more and more importance in the market. On the other hand, and because the eyes also eat, producing attractive foods due to their color, texture, appearance, and sensory characteristics is a permanent challenge in the food industry. Being able to gather healthy and attractive items in a single food is an even greater challenge. The long list of benefits associated with phenolic compounds, such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiaging properties, among others, fully justifies their use in the enrichment of various food products. Thus, in this review, we propose to summarize the potential use of phenolic compounds used as ingredients of pleasant and functional beverages.