The DOI matches its Crossref record; 162 of the 162 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Agroecosystem Management and Nutritional Quality of Plant Foods: The Case of Organic Fruits and Vegetables
Open accessAbstract
Organic and conventional crop management systems differ in terms of the fertilisers and plant protection methods used. Ecological and agronomic research on the effect of fertilization on plant composition shows that increasing availability of plant available nitrogen reduces the accumulation of defense-related secondary metabolites and vitamin C, while the contents of secondary metabolites such as carotenes that are not involved in defense against diseases and pests may increase. In relation to human health, increased intake of fruits and vegetables is linked to reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. This benefit may be primarily due to their content of defense-related secondary metabolites, since most other constituents of fruits and vegetables either are not unique to these foods or have been shown to not provide health benefits when the intake is increased. A meta-analysis of the published comparisons of the content of secondary metabolites and vitamins in organically and conventionally produced fruits and vegetables showed that in organic produce the content of secondary metabolites is 12% higher than in corresponding conventional samples ( P< 0.0001). This overall difference spans a large variation among sub-groups of secondary metabolites, from a 16% higher content for defence-related compounds ( P< 0.0001) to a nonsignificant 2% lower content for carotenoids, while vitamin C showed a 6% higher content ( P= 0.006). Based on the assumption that increasing the content of biologically active compounds in fruits and vegetables by 12% would be equivalent to increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables by the same 12%, a model developed to calculate the health outcome of increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables was then used to tentatively estimate the potential increase in life expectancy that would be achieved by switching from conventional to organic produce without changing the amount consumed per day, to 17 days for women and 25 days for men.
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In the citing paper
“However, these systematic reviews (1) used different methodologies (e.g. weighted and unweighted meta-analyses) and inclusion criteria, (2) did not cover most of the large amount of information published in the last 4–5 years, (3) provided no structured assessment of the strength of the evidence presented, and (4) came to contrasting conclusions.”
In the citing paper
“Several systematic literature reviews have recently analysed the available published information, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, with the aim of identifying the potential effects of organic and conventional production protocols on the nutritional quality of crops( 19 – 21 ).”
In the citing paper
“As a result, there is still considerable controversy as to whether the use of organic production standards results in significant and consistent changes in the concentrations of potentially health-promoting (e.g. antioxidants, (poly)phenolics, vitamins and certain minerals) and potentially harmful (e.g. Cd and Pb) compounds in crops and crop-based foods( 7 , 19 – 22 ).”
In the citing paper
“In contrast, there is increasing evidence that differences in fertilisation regimens between organic and conventional production systems (and, in particular, the non-use of high mineral N fertiliser inputs) are significant drivers for higher (poly)phenolic concentrations in organic crops( 20 , 49 – 52 ).”
In the citing paper
“For plant secondary metabolites, this confirms the results of the meta-analyses carried out by Brandt et al. ( 20 ), which indicated that there are significant composition differences between organic and conventional crops for a range of nutritionally relevant compounds.”
In the citing paper
“As has been mentioned in previous reviews( 19 – 21 ), pooling diverse information was necessary, because for most of the composition parameters, the number of published studies available was not sufficient to carry out separate meta-analyses for specific countries/regions and crop types and species.”
In the citing paper
“In contrast to previous literature reviews( 19 – 21 ), the larger number of studies now available allowed separate meta-analyses to be carried out for different crop types (e.g. fruits, vegetables and cereals), but only for a limited number of composition parameters.”
In the citing paper
“This is not surprising as both genetic and environmental/agronomic factors are known to affect the concentrations of N, , , proteins, sugars, antioxidants/(poly)phenolics, Cd and pesticides in crops( 7 , 9 – 12 , 20 , 47 – 52 , 62 ).”
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“…increasing number of studies indicate that and how plant-derived nitrate may provide significant benefits for human health (McKnight et al., 1999; Lundberg et al., 2008), quantitative data on consequences for health of the consumer are scarce and controversial, and some data are being published…”
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Out Of The Quagmire Of Plant Defense Hypotheses
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“In a meta-analysis of 100 publications, Brandt et al. (2011) showed that organic fruit and vegetables contained significantly higher amounts of secondary plant compounds compared to their conventional counterparts.”
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“This result is in agreement with (Brandt et al., 2011), who conducted a meta-analysis of the published comparative studies of the content of secondary metabolites as phenol and flavonoids in organic versus nonorganic crops, found that organic ones contained 12 % higher levels of secondary metabolites than correspondin…”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brandt, K., Leifert, C., Sanderson, R., & Seal, C. J.
- Affiliations
- Newcastle University (GB)
- Venue
- Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2011-01
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 177-197
- ISSN
- 0735-2689 (ISSN-L)
- 1549-7836
- OpenAlex
- W2141937908
- Semantic Scholar
- 2813c295572d2bb84716e65514956c99d57c8230
- Cited by
- 253
- References
- 162
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 20.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Funders
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- European Commission
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry (medical) › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Plant Growth and Agriculture Techniques
- Keywords
- organic farming, conventional farming, organic fruits and vegetables, secondary metabolites, carotenoids, vitamin C, plant nutrition, nitrogen fertilization, plant defense compounds, cancer risk, cardiovascular disease, life expectancy, agroecosystem management
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