Berries contain powerful antioxidants, potential allergens, and other bioactive
compounds. Genetic and environmental factors affect production and storage of
such compounds. For this reason breeding and biotechnological approaches are
currently used to control or to increase the content of specific health-related
compounds in fruits. This work reviews the main bioactive compounds determining
the nutritional quality of berries, the major factors affecting their content and
activity, and the genetic options currently available to achieve new genotypes able
to provide, under controlled cultivation conditions, berries with the proper balance
of bioactive compounds for improving consumer health