الفهرس 
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Abstract
Vegetables play an important role in human diets, as they support the normal functioning of the different body systems. They provide our cells with vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential oils and phytonutrients. Vegetables contain low amounts of fat and calories (Banerjee et al., 2012). Eggplant (Solanum melongena L. Family: Solanaceae) also known as aubergine, brinjal, melanzane, berenjena or patlıcan is very popular vegetable grown over 1.7 million hectares world-wide (Gramazio et al., 2014). It is an economically important vegetable crop of tropical and subtropical zones of the world including Asia (47,142,210 tons), Africa (1,814,535 tons), Europe (936,642 tons), the Americas (295,387 tons) and Oceania (4342 tons) ( Niño-Medina et al., 2017; Colak et al., 2022). In 2020, Egypt ranks third in the world in eggplant production with an annual production of approximately 1.34 million metric tons (https://www.tridge.com/intelligences/eggplant/EG). Egyptian black fruit are the most commonly marketed type, though purple and white cultivars have gained acceptability in recent years.
Eggplant fruits play an important role in human diets through their contain a considerable amount of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and good minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron (Quamruzzaman et al., 2020). Also, it uses for medicinal purposes due to its composition, which includes has very low calories and phytochemicals that contain phenolic components (caffeine and chlorogenic acid), flavonoids, mainly nasunin , as well as dietary fiber that is helpful for our health (Mohamed et al., 2003; Raigon et al., 2008; Quamruzzaman et al., 2020). Also, studies have indicated that anthocyanins and phenolic acids contribute to high antioxidant properties in eggplant (Plazas et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2018). The major phenolic compounds in eggplant fruits are reported to be highly beneficial for human health due to their known biological activities, and they can be potentially used in the treatment of several metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (Plazas et al., 2013). Also, eggplant exhibits potential health benefits in a number of degenerative diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonary disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease (Kwon et al., 2008; Li et al., 2017; Singh et al., 2017; Sharma and Kaushik, 2021). Furthermore, several authors have declared that eggplant enriched in phenolic compounds and free radical scavenging activity have a potential to reduce hyperglycemia-induced vascular complications resulting from oxidative damage ( Cao et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2020; Elhassaneen et al., 2022-a).
For all of these previous reasons, it is necessary to search for ideal preservation methods for eggplant fruits, through which the important nutritional and medicinal value is preserved, in addition to ensuring that they are available for feeding throughout the year. Freezing is one of the oldest and most widely used methods of food preservation, which allows preservation of taste, texture, and nutritional value in foods better than any other method. The freezing process is a combination of the beneficial effects of low temperatures at which microorganisms cannot grow, chemical reactions are reduced, and cellular metabolic reactions are delayed (Delgado and Sun, 2000; Gustavo et al., 2005). The process involves lowering the temperature of the product i.e. plant parts or removing heat from it through freezing water in cell juices and tissue spaces that ensure that the frozen products remain at deep temperatures (-18 0C) without any physical and chemical characteristics changed. °C (Fennema, 1973; Arthey, 1993). It is also scientifically proven that lowering the temperature to the level of freezing leads to the inhibition of the activity of microorganisms and the delay of chemical and enzymatic reactions, and thus preventing the products deterioration (cracking the nutrients contained in the product) and their corruption for long periods of time that may extend to years(George, 1993). Competing with new technologies of minimal processing of foods, industrial freezing is the most satisfactory method for preserving quality during long storage periods (Gustavo et al., 2005). Therefore, the present work aims to study some technological aspects related to the preservation of eggplant fruits by freezing process. Also, the influence of the preservation method on the chemical composition, nutritional value, bioactive compounds content and biological activities of eggplant fruits will be in the scope of this investigation.
AIM OF STUDY
The present work aims to study some technological aspects related to the preservation of eggplant fruits by freezing process. Also, the influence of the preservation method on the chemical composition, nutritional value, bioactive compounds content and biological activities of eggplant fruits will be in the scope of this investigation