Since a high intake of fruits and vegetables is inversely related to the incidence of several degenerative diseases, the importance of a balanced diet in relation to human health has received increased consumer attention worldwide. Strawberries (Fragaria X ananassa, Duch.) are a rich source of a wide variety of nutritive compounds such as sugars, vitamins, and minerals, as well as non-nutritive, bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, anthocyanins and phenolic acids. All of these compounds exert a synergistic and cumulative effect on human health promotion and in disease prevention. Strawberry phenolics are indeed able (i) to detoxify free radicals blocking their production, (ii) to modulate the expression of genes involved in metabolism, cell survival and proliferation and antioxidant defense, and (iii) to protect and repair DNA damage. The overall objective of the present review is to update and discuss the key findings, from recent in vivo studies, on the effects of strawberries on human health. Particular attention will be paid to the molecular mechanisms proposed to explain the health effects of polyphenols against the most common diseases related to oxidative stress driven pathologies, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammation.

Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (EPDENs) have recently been isolated and evaluated as potential bioactive nutraceutical biomolecules. It has been hypothesized that EPDENs may exert their activity on mammalian cells through their specific cargo. In this study, we isolated and purified EPDENs from the strawberry juice of Fragaria x ananassa (cv. Romina), a new cultivar characterized by a high content of anthocyanins, folic acid, flavonols, and vitamin C and an elevated antioxidant capacity. Fragaria-derived EPDENs were purified by a series of centrifugation and filtration steps. EPDENs showed size and morphology similar to mammalian extracellular nanovesicles. The internalization of Fragaria-derived EPDENs by human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) did not negatively affect their viability, and the pretreatment of MSCs with Fragaria-derived EPDENs prevented oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. This is possibly due to the presence of vitamin C inside the nanovesicle membrane. The analysis of EPDEN cargo also revealed the presence of small RNAs and miRNAs. These findings suggest that Fragaria-derived EPDENs may be considered nanoshuttles contained in food, with potential health-promoting activity.