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Applied Sciences
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New Trends and Advances in the Production of Functional Foods
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New Trends and Advances in the Production of Functional Foods

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 (10 March 2025) | Viewed by 1968

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. María de los Ángeles Varo Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Soil Science and Microbiology, Campus of Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, E-14014 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: phenolic compounds; antioxidant activity; wine; fruit; HPLC; distilled beverages, bioactive compounds, functional foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Azahara López Toledano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Soil Science and Microbiology, Campus of Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, E-14014 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: phenolic compounds; antioxidant activity; wine; fruit; HPLC; distilled beverages, bioactive compounds, functional foods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The European Commission's Concerted Action on Functional Food Science in Europe considers a food to be functional "if it is satisfactorily demonstrated that it beneficially affects one or more target functions in the body, beyond the appropriate nutritional effects, in a way that is relevant to improving the state of health and well-being and/or reducing the risk of disease". In the functional food group, there are natural foods; foods to which a component has been added that confers health-promoting properties to the food; foods from which a component has been removed or its bioavailability has been modified; or any combination of these.

Nowadays, society is seeking to consume foods that have beneficial properties for health. This fact is encouraging more and more research to be done on this type of food in order to take advantage of the benefits that these foods can bring to humans. For this reason, and because these foods can substantially change lifestyles and improve people's health, for example, by preventing diseases, we are interested in articles that investigate new trends and advances in the production of functional foods. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Production and innovation of new functional products.
  • Antioxidant activity of functional foods.
  • Phenolic and bioactive compounds in functional foods.
  • Aromatic profiles of functional foods.
  • Probiotics or similar in functional foods.
  • Shelf-life study of functional foods, including sensory analysis.
  • Nutrition in functional foods.
  • Studies related to health benefits derived from functional foods.

Original papers highlighting the latest research and technical developments are encouraged, and review articles and comparative studies are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. María de los Ángeles Varo Santos
Prof. Dr. Azahara López Toledano
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 food
  • antioxidant activity
  • bioactive compound
  • free radical
  • probiotics
  • nutrition
  • shelf life
  • aroma
  • sensory analysis

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2223 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Total Replacement of Sodium Chloride with Potassium and Magnesium Chloride on Pickling of Granny Smith Apples
by Daniela Constandache (Lungeanu), Doina-Georgeta Andronoiu, Oana Viorela Nistor, Oana Emilia Constantin, Dana Iulia Moraru, Ira-Adeline Simionov, Elisabeta Botez and Gabriel-Dănuț Mocanu
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 3924; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15073924 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 311
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of total substitution of NaCl with KCl and MgCl2 on the physicochemical, microbiological, and textural characteristics of pickled apples during 35 days of fermentation. The results showed that the pH for all brine-pickled apples decreased significantly ( [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effect of total substitution of NaCl with KCl and MgCl2 on the physicochemical, microbiological, and textural characteristics of pickled apples during 35 days of fermentation. The results showed that the pH for all brine-pickled apples decreased significantly (p < 0.05) during the fermentation process. The highest quantity (1077.59 ± 17.56 mg lactic acid/100 g product) of lactic acid was detected on the 28th day for the samples fermented with NaCl. The concentration of metallic ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+) in the brine-pickled apple samples showed a peak on the 14th day of fermentation, followed by a decrease on the 21st day. The antioxidant activity for all types of saline solutions increased as fermentation progressed. The total LAB count increased rapidly until the seventh day for all the samples. At the end of the storage period, a decrease in LAB count was observed for all tested samples. The obtained results revealed that replacing NaCl with KCl or MgCl2 led to small changes in the characteristics of the pickled apples, and is thus a promising option for dietary sodium reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends and Advances in the Production of Functional Foods)
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22 pages, 4330 KiB  
Article
Usefulness of Rowanberry for Improving the Nutritional Value of Buckwheat Flour Extrudates
by Robert Iwański, Merve Aydin and Ismail Tontul
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 3656; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15073656 - 26 Mar 2025
Viewed by 180
Abstract
Gluten-free snacks are often poor in nutritional value. Increasing the nutritional content and quality of these products is necessary. The present study investigated the effect of adding buckwheat at various levels (0, 30, 40, and 50%), milk powder, and rowanberry on the nutritional [...] Read more.
Gluten-free snacks are often poor in nutritional value. Increasing the nutritional content and quality of these products is necessary. The present study investigated the effect of adding buckwheat at various levels (0, 30, 40, and 50%), milk powder, and rowanberry on the nutritional content, bioactivity, and quality of the product using extrusion technology. The colour, expansion, nutrient value, texture, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of the samples were examined. The highest phenolic (0.59 mg GAE/g), flavonoid (6.93 mg RE/g), CUPRAC (9.60 mg TE/g), dry matter (92.85%), crude fat (1.01%), and ash (1.16%) values were determined in unexpanded samples containing rowanberry, milk, and 50% buckwheat. The highest DPPH (3.03 mg TE/g) and FRAP (1.43 mg TE/g) activities were indicated in the unexpanded samples containing rowanberry, water, and 40% buckwheat. This study’s results showed that rowanberry could be added as a functional component to enhance the nutritional value and quality of gluten-free extruded samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends and Advances in the Production of Functional Foods)
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15 pages, 2432 KiB  
Article
The Development of Fruit and Vegetal Probiotic Beverages Using Lactiplantibacillus pentosus LPG1 from Table Olives
by Azahara Lopez-Toledano, Lourdes Moyano, Francisco Noé Arroyo-López, Paola Martinez-Merina, Diego Bohoyo-Gil, Veronica Romero-Gil, Virginia Martin-Arranz and M. Angeles Varo
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11514; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411514 - 10 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1047
Abstract
Plant-based foods can be an alternative to dairy products as a source of probiotic microorganisms, especially aimed at lactose-intolerant people. In this work, four new formulations based on the mixture of fruits and vegetables with the addition of a unique probiotic strain ( [...] Read more.
Plant-based foods can be an alternative to dairy products as a source of probiotic microorganisms, especially aimed at lactose-intolerant people. In this work, four new formulations based on the mixture of fruits and vegetables with the addition of a unique probiotic strain (Lactiplantibacillus pentosus LPG1) obtained from the olive industry were developed. Moreover, the nutritional profile, antioxidant activity, and organoleptic characteristics of the beverages produced were studied. The results showed that it is possible to reach an average probiotic count of 6.45 log10 CFU/mL at 52 days of storage at 4 °C without the presence of Enterobacteriaceae, fungi/molds, or Staphylococcus, Listeria, or Salmonella spp. On the other hand, the beverages developed could be classified as high-value-added functional beverages due to their high antioxidant capacity of up to 33% DPPH inhibition, considerable total polyphenol content higher than 0.5 g gallic acid/L, and adequate nutritional composition. Additionally, sensory analysis via flash profile, acceptance, and affective test revealed that all probiotic beverages were appropriate in terms of odor, taste, and color, rendering them market ready to drink. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends and Advances in the Production of Functional Foods)
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