Oncological Functional Nutrition: Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants presents the anticancer activities, metabolism, mechanism of action, doses, and sources of various phytochemicals and medicinal plants. Broken into five parts, this book addresses cancer epidemiology, molecular and therapeutic bases of cancer, macro and micronutrients in cancer prevention and treatment, phytochemicals in the cancer treatment, and medical plants as potential functional foods or resources for the obtention of metabolites with anticancer activity. Written for nutritionists, food scientists, health professionals, oncologists, endocrinologists, natural product chemists, ethnobotanists, chemists, pharmacists, biochemists, and students studying relating fields, Oncological Functional Nutrition: Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants will be a useful reference for those interested in learning more about functional nutrition and cancer.

Bioactive Compounds: Health Benefits and Potential Applications provides information about different bioactive compounds including their sources, biological effects, health benefits and, potential applications which could contribute as alternatives in the prevention or treatment of multifactorial diseases for vulnerable population groups. Going beyond the basics to include discussion of bioaccessibility and the legislative aspects of marketing of bioactive compounds as nutraceuticals or food supplements, this book presents insights from a global perspective. Written for researchers, professors and graduate students, this book is sure to be a welcomed reference for all who work in food chemistry, new product development and nutritional science.

J. curcas L. is a small or large shrub tree, up to 57m tall, belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family which consists of around 800 species and belongs to around321 genera. Jatropha is a drought resistant crop that has a life expectancy of up to fifty years. It is also known as Ratanjayot and the physic nut. It can grow in arid, semiarid and wasteland climates. The plant has its native distributional range in Mexico, Central America, Africa, Brazil, the Indian subcontinent, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. J. curcas offers many benefits. Some of these benefits include: It costs almost nothing to grow; it is perennial, drought resistant and adapted for marginal land, and seems to be adequate for land reclamation; it can be grown almost anywhere even in sandy, saline, or otherwise infertile soil; it is easy to propagate; it is capable of stabilising sand dunes, acting as a windbreaker and combating desertification; it naturally repels both animals and insects; it does not exhaust the nutrients in the land; it does not require expensive crop rotation; it does not require fertilisers; and it grows quickly and establishes itself easily, among many other beneficial qualities. Currently, J. curcas can produce 2,000 L/ha oil annually. Presently, the production and usage of J. curcas oil is no longer confined to a specific geographic region or a limited number of end-products. Large quantities of J. curcas oil are consumed all over the world as ingredients of numerous products manufactured by a large number of industries. J. curcas was found to be suitable as a non-edible vegetable oil feedstock in oleochemical industries (biodiesel, fatty acids, soap, cosmetics, paraffin, fatty nitrogenous derivatives, surfactants and detergents, etc.). To supply J. curcas oil and its derived ingredients to these industries and their customers, an integrated J. curcas oil production has been developed over the years. Globally, J. curcas has created an interest for researchers because it is a non-edible oil, does not create a food versus fuel conflict, and can be used to produce biodiesel with same or better performance results when tested in diesel engines. For the above mentioned, the purpose of this book is to provide an insight into the possibilities of applying J. curcas for commercial purposes. Emphasis will be placed on the biology, chemistry and potential uses of J. curcas and its derivatives.