Abstract:

Avocado (Persea americana Mill), known by various names in history, is a tropical fruit from Americas. Its largest producer is Mexico, and today it has been produced in many different countries. Avocado production in Turkey has also been increasing rapidly, and the production volume has increased 14 times in the last 19 years reaching 4209 tons in 2019. In addition to its high nutritional content and health beneficial effects, this fruit, with its medicinal properties, has been the focus of many research areas. Avocado is one of the rare fruits with a high oil content level (≈15%), and its oil composition is very similar to olive oil. Besides, it has a very rich nutritional composition in terms of essential nutrients such as different fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids and other phytochemicals. In various studies, it is stated that the bioactive compounds of avocado have health beneficial effects such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic and anti-hypertensive. In addition, avocado consumption is especially important in reducing cholesterol and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Due to all these beneficial effects, the production and consumption of avocados in daily diet have increased significantly in the last 10 years. In this review, the history, varieties, production, composition and health effects of the bioactive components of avocado are discussed.

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