AVOCADO (PERSEA AMERICANA): PHYTOCHEMICALS AND HEALTH BENEFITS AGAINST METABOLIC DISORDERS

Metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and oxidative stress continue to be a prime concern worldwide and is a threat to the well-being, health, and economic prosperity of people around the world. It is an imperative need to develop sustainable ways and actions in addressing the incidence of these severe health conditions. A variety of pharmaceutical products have been used to administer patients for improving symptoms and consequences of these metabolic disorders; these pharmaceuticals have unfavorable side effects progressively. It is crucial to find safer and more sustainable ways of treating patients suffering these metabolic diseases. Tropical fruits are a source of bioactive compounds and numerous studies related to the effects of their chemical components on the metabolic disorders have been conducted. The scientific literature is plenty of studies that report good results of the use of tropical plants and their fruits, particularly the avocado plant parts and its fruit, including its exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. Oil, proteins, vitamins, fibers, and phytochemicals present in the avocado plant have shown the excellent capability of not only addressing the prevalence of these metabolic diseases but also being safe and having minimal side effects. The general objective of this book chapter is to review the bioactive compounds and their action to promote health benefits in the prevention and management of metabolic disorders. Hopefully, this extensive review will reach stakeholders, academics, the general public, and food and pharmaceutical companies so that the exploration and development of novel functional foods and sustainable and safer drugs for metabolic disorder treatment would become a reality.