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Evolution of Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Probiotics: From Conventional Food to Next Generation Biotherapeutics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2023) | Viewed by 8163

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, P.O. Box 2440, Hail 34464, Saudi Arabia
Interests: nutraceuticals; functional foods; probiotics; fermentation; metabolic disorders; bioactive compounds

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Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology, Islamic University of Science & Technology Awantipora Jammu & Kashmir, Awantipora 192122, India
Interests: functinal foods; waste valorization; nutraceuticals; food nanotechnology; adavanced food analysis

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Guest Editor
National Agricultural Research Centre, National Institute of Genomics and Agriculture Biotechnology (NIGAB), Park Road, Islamabad 45500, Pakistan
Interests: probiotics; functional foods; fermentation; solid state fermentation; microbiology; cell culture techniques; bioinformatics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few years, there has been mounting evidence and understanding concerning human health and its association with foods. Moreover, as the battles against various diseases such as diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer and heart disease continue, scientific communities are seeking to create a healthier society through nutrition and dietary-based approaches. As a result, the evolution of conventional food systems into novel diet-based strategies such as functional foods, nutraceuticals, and probiotics is of high significance as it not only provides nutritional benefits but also helps to improve human health. Several new-generation foods such as functional foods are meant to impart health promotion or disease prevention benefits in addition to providing the required amount of essential nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, and oils needed for healthy survival. On the other hand, nutraceuticals are termed as a “food, or parts of a food, that provide medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease”. Meanwhile, probiotic is considered as one of the novel food product, which has many health benefits other than basic nutritional significance. Although, these food-based strategies such as biotherapeutics are not used as an alternative for conventional treatments but are used as an adjuvant to standard therapy. A well-balanced diet along with a prescribed amount of these products can manage many metabolic disorders.

In this Special Issue, we welcome reviews and original research manuscripts that address the recent advancements and technological innovations in the functional foods, nutraceuticals, probiotics and their application for the management of various disorders such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, inflammatory disorders, neurodegenerative disorders and many more.

We welcome manuscripts with a focus on the following topics below:

  • Recent updates and developments in the production of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and probiotics.
  • Role of functional food, nutraceuticals, and probiotics for the management of different metabolic disorders.
  • Uncovering the potential of functional foods and nutraceuticals as a targeted therapy.
  • Mechanistic approaches to recognize the clinical implications of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and probiotics.
  • The use of multi-omics and computational approaches to understand the role of food bioactive compounds present in functional foods and nutraceutical products, protein–ligand binding interactions, and its affinity.

Dr. Syed Amir Ashraf
Dr. Ishrat Majid
Dr. Shakira Ghazanfar
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. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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 foods
  • nutraceuticals
  • probiotics
  • health-promoting agent
  • dietary supplements
  • metabolic disorders
  • gastrointestinal disorders
  • fermented foods
  • bioactive compounds

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3264 KiB  
Article
Anticancer Effects in HT-29 Cells and Anti-Inflammatory Effects on Mouse Splenocytes of Broccoli Cultivated with Deep Sea Water Minerals in Organic Farming
by Yeon-Jun Lee, Yanni Pan, Seung-Hwan Park, Sin-Il Sin and Kun-Young Park
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(17), 9684; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179684 - 27 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2117
Abstract
In this study, broccoli grown with deep sea water minerals (DSWMs) confirmed anticancer effects in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells and anti-inflammatory effects in C57BL/6 mouse splenocytes. Natural dream cultured broccoli (NB) grown with DSWMs had elevated sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) levels and [...] Read more.
In this study, broccoli grown with deep sea water minerals (DSWMs) confirmed anticancer effects in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells and anti-inflammatory effects in C57BL/6 mouse splenocytes. Natural dream cultured broccoli (NB) grown with DSWMs had elevated sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) levels and enhanced the expression of p53 and p21, both of which are associated with cell cycle arrest in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells. It also decreased the expression of Bax, Bad, Bim, Bak, caspase-9, and caspase-3. In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated C57BL/6 mouse splenocytes, NB produced little nitric oxide (NO). ELISA research indicated that NB decreased IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-12 expression while increasing NK cell activity. As a result, broccoli cultivated with deep water minerals has better anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties than conventional and organic farming. Full article
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17 pages, 3711 KiB  
Article
Anticancer Activity of Mineral-Supplemented Organically Cultivated Carrot on HT-29 Cells and Its Anti-Inflammatory Effect on Mice Splenocytes
by Yanni Pan, Yeon-Jun Lee, Sin-Il Sin, Seung-Hwan Park and Kun-Young Park
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9209; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169209 - 13 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2635
Abstract
Carrot (Daucus carota) is one of the world’s most significant root vegetables, with various bioactivities. This study aimed to investigate the anticancer activity and anti-inflammatory effects of natural dream cultivation carrot (NC). Natural dream cultivation is a cultivation method based on [...] Read more.
Carrot (Daucus carota) is one of the world’s most significant root vegetables, with various bioactivities. This study aimed to investigate the anticancer activity and anti-inflammatory effects of natural dream cultivation carrot (NC). Natural dream cultivation is a cultivation method based on organic farming incorporating minerals. An MTT assay was used to evaluate the inhibitory rate of carrot samples on HT-29 human colon cancer cells, and qPCR was used to assess the mRNA expression of the cell cycle and apoptosis-related genes in the cancer cells. The nitrite oxide (NO) concentration was determined using the Griess method. The levels of inflammatory cytokines in LPS-induced mouse splenocytes were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the activity of NK cells was determined using LDH analysis. The results revealed that NC effectively inhibited cancer cell growth rate. Moreover, NC upregulated the mRNA expression of cell-cycle-arrest-related genes (p53 and p21) and apoptosis-related genes (Bim, Bad, Bax, Bak, caspase-9, and caspase-3) in cancer cells while downregulating the expression of anti-apoptotic genes, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. NC inhibited NO production and the release of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and IL-12) in LPS-induced mouse splenocytes. NC also demonstrated the ability to stimulate NK cell activation. This study explored the potential mechanisms underlying carrots’ anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties by investigating their inhibitory effects on cancer cells and regulating the inflammatory response. The innovative mineral-supplemented organic cultivation method, as explored in this study, opens new avenues for harnessing the potential of carrots as a functional food source with promising applications in cancer and inflammation management. This research not only provides insights into the bioactive potential of carrots but also contributes to the future development of novel dietary interventions and therapeutics. Full article
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16 pages, 2842 KiB  
Article
Increased Anticancer Activity of Organic Kimchi with Starters Demonstrated in HT-29 Cancer Cells
by Yeon-Jun Lee, Yanni Pan, Kyu-Bum Kwack, Ji Hyung Chung and Kun-Young Park
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 6654; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13116654 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2498
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the effects of kimchi made with organic ingredients and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as starters (Leuconostoc mesenteroides + Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) on HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. Four types of kimchi (standard kimchi (SK), commercial kimchi (CK), [...] Read more.
This study aims to investigate the effects of kimchi made with organic ingredients and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as starters (Leuconostoc mesenteroides + Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) on HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. Four types of kimchi (standard kimchi (SK), commercial kimchi (CK), anticancer kimchi (AK), and organic anticancer kimchi (OAK)) were evaluated. The results show that, among the different types of kimchi studied, OAK presents high DPPH free-radical scavenging activity and total phenol and flavonoid contents, and the MTT assay shows that the growth inhibition rate against HT-29 cancer cells is the highest. In addition, the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results show that, compared to SK and CK, AK and OAK can effectively down-regulate the mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 and up-regulate the mRNA expression of the cell cycle arrest genes p21 and p53; pro-apoptotic genes Bim, Bak, and Bad; and genes for caspases 3 9. Subsequently, a Western blot test confirmed that the expression of Bcl-2 decreased and the expressions of p53, Bax, and caspases 3 and 9 increased in OAK. The abovementioned results indicate that the anticancer kimchi prepared with organic ingredients and starters of lactic acid bacteria effectively present the best antioxidant activity and inhibit the proliferation of HT-29 cancer cells by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Full article
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