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Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 7422

Special Issue Editors

Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24231, Saudi Arabia
Interests: food chemistry; antioxidants; functional food; health; lipid science; nutrition; phytochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: bioactive compounds; natural products; nutraceuticals; antioxidants; dietary supplements; food quality; nutrition; food composition databases; bioavailability, metabolic pathway; nanoformulations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: natural compounds; nutraceuticals; natural products; food science and nutrition; food composition databases; bioaccesibility; dietary intake
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Molecules is entitled Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health. Many fresh and processed food products (vegetables, fruits, cereal, and dairy products) are rich in bioactive molecules, including vitamins, carotenoids, polysaccharides, proteins, peptides, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, sterols, and bioactive lipids. Some fermented food products are also considered novel items with health benefits. Many bioactive molecules in food have a synergistic impact with medicaments and prevent several diseases (i.e., metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.).

Consumer awareness is growing about the health-enhancing effects of food bioactive molecules from plant and animals sources. Health claims are important value-added features for consumers, wherein authorities accept health claims in functional foods based on scientific evidence. The health-promoting impacts of bioactive compounds depend on their chemical structure; therefore, novel analytical techniques have been developed to elucidate the structure of active molecules. Besides, novel techniques have been developed to increase the yield of bioactive molecules. On the other hand, the investigation of the structure–function relationship of food bioactive molecules is of importance. Several factors might affect the structure–function relationship of food bioactives, including agricultural practices, cultivars, post-harvest treatments, processing, and storage conditions.

In this regard, Molecules is delighted to highlight the importance of food bioactive molecules and their effect on health. Researchers from different fields, including food chemistry, biochemistry, natural products, phytotherapy, pharmacology, medicine, and biotechnology, are expected to disseminate their results in this issue. In this Special Issue of Molecules, researchers are invited to contribute original, unpublished research and up-to-date review articles that analyze and describe bioactive molecules in fresh and processed food products; their stability during food processing and storage; and the mechanisms of their digestion, bioactivity (in vitro and in vivo), and metabolite formation. In addition, the impact of food bioactive molecules in preventing and treating diseases is of interest.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel analytical techniques in the structure elucidation of food bioactive molecules;
  • Chemistry and functionality of food bioactive molecules;
  • Factors affecting the structure–function relationship of food bioactive molecules;
  • The effect of industrial and biotechnological processing on food bioactive molecules;
  • Modification of food bioactive molecules to enhance their health-promoting effects.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan
Dr. Alessandra Durazzo
Dr. Massimo Lucarini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • functional food
  • antioxidants
  • health-promoting effects
  • database
  • phytotherapy
  • phenolic compounds
  • extraction
  • analysis
  • phytochemicals
  • structure-function-relationship
  • health
  • disease

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 463 KiB  
Editorial
Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health
by Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan, Alessandra Durazzo and Massimo Lucarini
Molecules 2021, 26(24), 7678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26247678 - 19 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2538
Abstract
Fresh and processed food products are rich in bioactive molecules, including polysaccharides, vitamins, carotenoids, peptides, antioxidants, phenolics, phytosterols, and novel lipids. Bioactive molecules in food could prevent several diseases (i.e., metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.). Thus, consumer awareness is growing about the [...] Read more.
Fresh and processed food products are rich in bioactive molecules, including polysaccharides, vitamins, carotenoids, peptides, antioxidants, phenolics, phytosterols, and novel lipids. Bioactive molecules in food could prevent several diseases (i.e., metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.). Thus, consumer awareness is growing about the health-promoting impact of food bioactive molecules. Health claims are essential added-value features, wherein health-enhancing potential of bioactives depend on their chemical structure. On the other hand, the investigation of the structure-function relationship of food bioactive molecules is of importance. In this regard, Molecules is delighted to highlight the importance of food bioactive molecules and their effect on health. In this Special Issue of Molecules, researchers are invited to contribute original research and up-to-date reviews. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

17 pages, 4757 KiB  
Article
Phenolic-Rich Extracts from Circular Economy: Chemical Profile and Activity against Filamentous Fungi and Dermatophytes
by Andrea Lombardi, Margherita Campo, Pamela Vignolini, Marco Papalini, Mirco Pizzetti and Roberta Bernini
Molecules 2023, 28(11), 4374; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules28114374 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1142
Abstract
Fungal infections represent a relevant issue in agri-food and biomedical fields because they could compromise quality of food and humans’ health. Natural extracts represent a safe alternative to synthetic fungicides and in the green chemistry and circular economy scenario, agro-industrial wastes and by-products [...] Read more.
Fungal infections represent a relevant issue in agri-food and biomedical fields because they could compromise quality of food and humans’ health. Natural extracts represent a safe alternative to synthetic fungicides and in the green chemistry and circular economy scenario, agro-industrial wastes and by-products offer an eco-friendly source of bioactive natural compounds. In this paper, phenolic-rich extracts from Olea europaea L. de-oiled pomace, Castanea sativa Mill. wood, Punica granatum L. peel, and Vitis vinifera L. pomace and seeds were characterized by HPLC-MS-DAD analysis. Finally, these extracts were tested as antimicrobial agents against pathogenic filamentous fungi and dermatophytes such as Aspergillus brasiliensis, Alternaria sp., Rhizopus stolonifer, and Trichophyton interdigitale. The experimental results evidenced that all extracts exhibited a significant growth inhibition for Trichophyton interdigitale. Punica granatum L., Castanea sativa Mill., and Vitis vinifera L. extracts showed a high activity against Alternaria sp. and Rhizopus stolonifer. These data are promising for the potential applications of some of these extracts as antifungal agents in the food and biomedical fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health)
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Review

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17 pages, 1387 KiB  
Review
An Insight into Antihyperlipidemic Effects of Polysaccharides from Natural Resources
by Yong-Shuai Jing, Yun-Feng Ma, Fei-Bing Pan, Ming-Song Li, Yu-Guang Zheng, Lan-Fang Wu and Dan-Shen Zhang
Molecules 2022, 27(6), 1903; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27061903 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
Hyperlipidemia is a chronic metabolic disease caused by the abnormal metabolism of lipoproteins in the human body. Its main hazard is to accelerate systemic atherosclerosis, which causes cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and thrombosis. At the same time, although the current [...] Read more.
Hyperlipidemia is a chronic metabolic disease caused by the abnormal metabolism of lipoproteins in the human body. Its main hazard is to accelerate systemic atherosclerosis, which causes cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and thrombosis. At the same time, although the current hypolipidemic drugs have a certain therapeutic effect, they have side effects such as liver damage and digestive tract discomfort. Many kinds of polysaccharides from natural resources possess therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia but still lack a comprehensive understanding. In this paper, the research progress of natural polysaccharides on reducing blood lipids in recent years is reviewed. The pharmacological mechanisms and targets of natural polysaccharides are mainly introduced. The relationship between structure and hypolipidemic activity is also discussed in detail. This review will help to understand the value of polysaccharides in lowering blood lipids and provide guidance for the development and clinical application of new hypolipidemic drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health)
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