SCIENCE ALERT: Chicory as a dietary ingredient: a review of nutritional profile, bioactivity, and safety (Food Chemistry)

Editor's Note

Chicory is cultivated worldwide, and there is increasing interest in the use of chicory as a food, beverage, and dietary ingredient. In particular constituents from chicory such as inulin, polyphenols, and sesqiterpene lactones have been investigated. This review of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) describes nutritional composition of chicory and summarizes the main biological activities associated with the presence of bioactive compounds in the different plant parts. The authors discuss a variety of possible uses of chicory in food products including salads and teas, with intention to design new food applications.

January 2021

Food Chemistry

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127676

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a food ingredient – Nutritional composition, bioactivity, safety, and health claims: A review

Abstract

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial herb from the Cichorium genus, Asteraceae family, and is worldwide cultivated. So far, chicory has been used mainly in animal feed, but also in several cases in the food industry: as salad, for teas and tea blends, for coffee supplementation, and as a source for the inulin production. Nowadays there is an increasing interest in chicory utilization for food production and supplementation. Some compounds present in chicory, such as polyphenols, inulin, oligofructose and sesquiterpene lactones may be considered as potential carriers of food functionality. This review describes nutritional, mineral and bioactive composition of the chicory plant and summarized the main biological activities associated with the presence of bioactive compounds in the different plant parts. Finally, the review explores possibilities of uses of chicory and its implementation in food products, with intention to design new functional foods.