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Agriculture
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Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural Products and By-Products: Extraction, Characterization, and...
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Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural Products and By-Products: Extraction, Characterization, and Potential Applications

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2026) | Viewed by 2539

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bojana Šarić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food; plant-based proteins; antioxidants; industrial waste valorisation; novel extraction techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Aleksandar Marić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: food chemistry; green chemistry; honey; extractions; green extractions; ionic liquids; chromatography; spectrophotometry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing global emphasis on sustainable development and the efficient use of agricultural resources has brought attention to the valorization of agricultural by-products as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. These compounds, found in various agricultural residues, hold significant potential for enhancing the quality and functionality of products across multiple industries. Bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, proteins, and peptides, are known for their beneficial biological activities. The extraction and characterization of these compounds not only offer an eco-friendly approach to waste management but also contribute to the development of high-value ingredients with potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural sectors.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advancements in the extraction, characterization, and application of bioactive compounds derived from agricultural products and by-products, as well as their uses across various industrial sectors. Special emphasis is placed on innovative solutions in the fields of biostimulants and biopesticides, particularly in the context of sustainable agriculture. Additionally, the issue explores the use of bioactive compounds as functional food additives, focusing on their potential to enhance the nutritional value and health benefits of food products.

Ensuring the quality and safety of bioactive ingredients is crucial for promoting their responsible use, enhancing the value of agricultural products, and advancing sustainable practices within the agricultural and food industries. As such, research focused on the safety, quality control, and regulatory aspects of bioactive compounds is essential in developing new, safe, and effective products. This Special Issue will emphasize the importance of these areas of research, highlighting the need for rigorous safety assessments, effective quality control measures, and comprehensive regulatory frameworks to ensure the responsible integration of bioactive compounds into products and practices.

Dr. Bojana Šarić
Guest Editor

Dr. Aleksandar Marić
Guest Editor Assistant

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Agriculture 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 2600 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

  • agricultural products and by-products
  • sustainable agriculture
  • biostimulants
  • biopesticides
  • food product development

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 831 KB  
Article
Inhibition of Insect and Nematode Acetylcholinesterase and Glucosidases by Essential Oils—In Vitro and In Silico Studies
by Mariana Martins, Rui Ferreira and Paula Castilho
Agriculture 2026, 16(11), 1173; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111173 - 27 May 2026
Viewed by 251
Abstract
Insects, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) and the armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta), and nematodes, including the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), are major agricultural pests. Essential oils [...] Read more.
Insects, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) and the armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta), and nematodes, including the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), are major agricultural pests. Essential oils (EOs) from aromatic plants are promising botanical pesticides due to their bioactivity. This study evaluated the in vitro effects of EOs from Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Ocimum gratissimum, Mentha pulegium, and Cinnamomum cassia, and their main compounds (carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, pulegone, and trans-cinnamaldehyde, respectively), on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α- and β-glucosidases using crude enzyme extracts. All EOs inhibited AChE, with no significant effects on glucosidases. M. pulegium EO showed the strongest inhibition in C. capitata (IC50 = 0.022 mg/mL) and B. xylophilus (IC50 = 0.1209 mg/mL), while C. cassia EO was most effective against M. unipuncta (IC50 = 0.0020 mg/mL) and M. incognita (IC50 = 0.0197 mg/mL). In silico analysis revealed selective inhibition of insect AChE by EO-derived compounds, with insignificant effects on electric eel AChE, supporting species-specific interactions. These findings highlight EOs as selective, neurotargeting, and sustainable alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural Products and By-Products: Extraction, Characterization, and Potential Applications)
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25 pages, 13557 KB  
Article
Integrated Chemometric and Neural Network Analysis for the Differentiation of Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata
by Milorad Miljić, Biljana Lončar, Biljana Kiprovski, Lato Pezo, Miloš Radosavljević, Milenko Košutić, Vesna Vasić, Dragana Lukić, Milena Rašeta and Sanja Krstić
Agriculture 2026, 16(7), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16070733 - 26 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 502
Abstract
This study examines the compositional differentiation of two Cucurbita species, C. maxima Duchesne and C. moschata Duchesne, to identify chemical markers relevant for their nutritional and functional potential. Multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to chromatographic, chemical, and antioxidant [...] Read more.
This study examines the compositional differentiation of two Cucurbita species, C. maxima Duchesne and C. moschata Duchesne, to identify chemical markers relevant for their nutritional and functional potential. Multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to chromatographic, chemical, and antioxidant descriptors to visualize patterns of variability among samples. Classification artificial neural network (cANN) models were used to explore the potential of machine learning for sample differentiation, using integrated lipidomic, carotenoid, phenolic, and liquid chromatographic datasets, providing a multidimensional biochemical characterization of Cucurbita samples, achieving good classification within the analyzed dataset, reflecting the model’s capacity to describe the available data. The integration of chemometric and ANN approaches provides a framework for the compositional profiling and quality assessment of Cucurbita species, offering insights into their sustainable valorization as sources of bioactive compounds for food and nutraceutical applications while acknowledging the need for further validation on larger datasets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural Products and By-Products: Extraction, Characterization, and Potential Applications)
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Review

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35 pages, 4368 KB  
Review
Winery By-Products as Sustainable Sources of Proteins and Bioactive Peptides: Characterisation, Extraction and Potential Applications Under the EU Regulatory Framework
by Damjana Tomić, Aleksandar Marić, Danka Dragojlović, Branislava Đermanović, Jelena Vujetić, Bojana Šarić and Tea Sedlar
Agriculture 2026, 16(9), 942; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16090942 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 902
Abstract
The global wine industry generates approximately 20 million tonnes of organic residues annually, representing a significant environmental and management challenge. While phenolic compounds from winery by-products have been extensively studied, protein and peptide fractions remain underutilised. This review provides a systematic overview of [...] Read more.
The global wine industry generates approximately 20 million tonnes of organic residues annually, representing a significant environmental and management challenge. While phenolic compounds from winery by-products have been extensively studied, protein and peptide fractions remain underutilised. This review provides a systematic overview of proteins derived from major winery side streams, including grapevine leaves, stems, pomace, seeds, and wine lees, with emphasis on their characterisation and recovery. Conventional and emerging extraction strategies are evaluated, with particular attention to green technologies such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), pulsed electric fields (PEF), and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) in the context of sustainable and resource-efficient processing. Enzymatic hydrolysis is discussed as a key approach for converting complex proteins into bioactive peptides with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertensive properties. Potential applications in agriculture, plant protection, animal nutrition, and food systems are considered, together with the implications of the EU circular economy regulatory framework. Overall, winery by-products are highlighted as promising nitrogen-rich secondary resources, and the review outlines valorisation pathways supporting nutrient recycling, waste reduction, and the development of a more sustainable agricultural bioeconomy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Agricultural Products and By-Products: Extraction, Characterization, and Potential Applications)
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