Review on the main differences between organic and conventional plant-based foods

G. P. P. Lima¹ and F. Vianello²

Abstract
The present review reports on the main characteristics and properties of plants cultivated following organic and conventional procedures, in the attempt to clarify and give a deeper insight into some possible differences and to compare the two cultivation procedures.

Here, we summarise research results regarding nutritional and safety properties of vegetable foods, evidencing qualitative differences observed between the two cultivation methods.

It appears that the intake of organic foods leads to some advantages, such as the ingestion of a higher content of phenolic compounds and some vitamins, such as vitamin C, and a lower content of nitrates and pesticides. From literature, it appears that a special care should be taken about the ingestion of foods in relation to the content of some substances, e.g. polyamines, substances stimulating cellular division, because some foods coming from organic origin present a higher content of these compounds, which could explain some of the effect of the diet on patients affected by certain syndromes.


Source
International Journal of Food Science and Technology (2011) 46: 1-13
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02436.x


Author Locations and Affiliations
(1) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, I.B., Universidade Estadual Paulista, CP 510, CEP 18618-000, Botucatu, SP, Brazil
(2) Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy


Posted July 2011