**2. Nutritional and health benefit profile of strawberry**

Strawberries are an excellent source of essential and health benefitting nutrients (**Table 1**) and low in total calories with a 100 g serving providing only 32 kcal. Their sweet flavor makes them a delicious alternative to processed foods. Dietary fiber present in strawberries may contribute to regulating blood sugar levels by slowing digestion. Fiber content may also control calorie intake by its satiating effect. Strawberries contain fat-soluble vitamins (i.e., vitamin A and tocopherol) and carotenoids (i.e., lutein and zeaxanthin), but one of the aspects of major nutritional relevance is the extremely high content of vitamin C, even higher than citrus fruits. Together with vitamin C, folate plays a crucial role in the nutritional quality of strawberry as it is one of the richest natural sources of this essential micronutrient, and folate is an important factor in health promotion and disease prevention [15, 16]. Strawberry is a source of several other vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B6, vitamin K, vitamin A, and vitamin E although to a lesser extent (**Table 1**). It is also an excellent source of manganese providing more than 20% of the daily adequate intake (AI) for this mineral per serving. The same amount of strawberries can provide about 5% of the AI for potassium and is known as a good source of iodine, magnesium, copper, iron, and phosphorus (**Table 1**).
