TY - JOUR JF - Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture N2 - Berries are a relevant source of micronutrients and nonessential phytochemicals, such as polyphenol compounds, that play a synergistic and cumulative role in human health promotion. Several systematic analyses showed that berry phenolics are able to detoxify reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, blocking their production, to intervene in the cell cycle, participating in the transduction and expression of genes involved in apoptosis, and to repair oxidative DNA damage. As a consequence, the improvement of the nutritional quality of berries has become a new quality target of breeding and biotechnological strategies, to control or to increase the content of specific health-related compounds in fruits. This work reviews, on the basis of the in vitro and in vivo evidence, the main berries' phytochemical compounds and their possible mechanisms of action on pathways involved in several type of diseases, with particular attention to cancer, inflammation, neurodegeneration, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry Y1 - 2015/// IS - 2 SP - 365 VL - 96 SN - 00225142 UR - http://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7216 ID - uneatlantico94 EP - 371 TI - The genetic aspects of berries: from field to health AV - none A1 - Mazzoni, Luca A1 - Perez-Lopez, Patricia A1 - Giampieri, Francesca A1 - Alvarez-Suarez, José M. A1 - Gasparrini, Massimiliano A1 - Forbes-Hernandez, Tamara Y. A1 - Quiles, José L. A1 - Mezzetti, Bruno A1 - Battino, Maurizio KW - Berries; Bioactive compounds; Genetic improvement; Cancer; Inflammation; Neurological diseases. ER -