The Nutritional and Health Benefits of Kiwiberry (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Actinidia arguta</Emphasis>) – a Review

The kiwiberry (Actinidia arguta) is a new product on the market that is enjoying growing consumer acceptance around the world. This widespread interest has created increased demand for identification of the kiwiberry’s nutritional health benefits. Containing over 20 essential nutrients and a range of vitamins, the kiwiberry comes near the top of fruits classed as superfoods. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin C with up to 430 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW) and is considered the richest dietary source of myo-inositol (up to 982 mg/100 g FW). The kiwiberry is also one of the richest sources of lutein (up to 0.93 mg/100 g FW) in commonly consumed fruit. Furthermore, containing up to 1301.1 mg/100 g FW phenolics and significant amounts of the essential minerals of potassium, calcium and zinc, the kiwiberry rates very highly as a ‘healthy food’. The type and number of this fruit’s medicinally promising nutrients have motivated ongoing investigations into its antioxidant, anti-tumour and anti-inflammatory properties. Early research has pointed to the kiwiberry being a very promising treatment for some cancers and health issues involving the gastrointestinal system, hypercholesterolemia and certain cancers. A pharmaceutical composition of A. arguta, A. kolomikta, and A. polygama extracts has already been registered for the prevention and treatment of some immune (inflammatory) mediated diseases, as well as the treatment of some non-allergic inflammatory diseases. This paper reviews and highlights the limited nutritional and therapeutic information currently available on the kiwiberry, a minor fruit possessing such major properties.     

Genomics and crop response to global change: what have we learned?

Global change poses major challenges for research in fields ranging from crop improvement to water and fertilizer management. Plant genomics is often promoted as a likely source of breakthroughs in understanding plant response to temperature and water stress. This special issue includes papers that range from consideration of gene-to-phenotype associations to papers at the system scale that examine successes and problems with linking physiology and genomics for global change research. Key themes covered include “How genomics can contribute to global change research,” “Genomics and basic understanding of crop responses to the environment,” and “What can field-level physiology bring to genomic research?”. Extrapolation from the model species arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.] has proven more problematic than anticipated, but new techniques and advances in gene sequencing of crop species helps compensate for such difficulties. Physiological research complements genomics by bringing an understanding of the response of the whole plant or crop to differing environments. Physiology also leads to an appreciation of how macro-scale processes such as photosynthesis and partitioning add biological meaning to genotype-by-environment interactions that are significant statistically but otherwise are not meaningful. Furthermore, physiologists have traditionally measured phenotypes in careful detail, and they have a clear role in adding precision to research on gene-to-phenotype associations. Research on crop response to global change has much to gain from strengthened collaboration between genomics and field-level crop physiology.