From Waste to Health: Upcycling Agrifood By-Products into Functional Antioxidant-Rich Ingredients and Products—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the first edition, this second Special Issue aims to further consolidate recent advances in the sustainable valorisation of agrifood by-products as sources of high-value bioactive compounds for food, nutraceutical, cosmetic and biomedical applications.

The increasing demand for sustainable food systems, combined with the urgent need to reduce food waste and promote circular bioeconomy strategies, has stimulated extensive research into the recovery of valuable compounds from agricultural and food processing residues. Side streams generated during the production of fruits, vegetables, cereals, olive oil, wine, dairy products and other food commodities represent rich reservoirs of polyphenols, dietary fibres, proteins, peptides, carotenoids, vitamins and other antioxidant molecules with significant biological activity.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews and critical reviews addressing innovative extraction technologies, green solvents, biorefinery approaches, metabolomics, advanced analytical techniques, bioaccessibility and bioavailability studies, gut microbiota modulation, personalised nutrition, encapsulation technologies and novel delivery systems. Studies investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying antioxidant activity, oxidative stress modulation, inflammation, metabolic health and chronic disease prevention are particularly encouraged.

We also encourage submissions focusing on industrial scale-up, techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment, regulatory aspects, consumer acceptance, artificial intelligence and digital tools supporting the transition towards a circular and sustainable bioeconomy.

By bringing together multidisciplinary contributions spanning chemistry, food science, nutrition, biotechnology, engineering and medicine, this Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of current scientific advances and future perspectives for transforming agrifood by-products into valuable resources that simultaneously benefit human health, industry competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

Dr. Ítala Marx
Dr. Feliciano Priego-Capote
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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.