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Processing and Application of Functional Food Ingredients

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 1250

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Material Science, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: bioactive compounds; process contaminates; nutrition and health; meat science; food technology and chemistry; food quality; functional foods; electrospinning; encapsulation; alternative proteins; glycoproteins, polysaccharide-protein conjugates, heteroprotein aggregates, chromatography; polymers; food science and technology; antioxidant activity; food chemistry; analytical chemistry; food analysis; antioxidants; food quality; phytochemicals; food science
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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Food Material Science, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 25, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Interests: meat science; food technology; food quality; functional foods; alternative proteins; less refined ingredients; post-translational modification; process optimization; food science and technology; food science; functional ingredients

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional food components, their characterization, and their application in both research and industry are of huge interest in the latest research. Alternative proteins, including those derived from plants, algae, and fungi, as well as coacervates with various polysaccharides, show vast potential and are, thus, of significant interest to the food industry. The technofunctional properties of new materials, such as foaming and emulsification, can be enhanced by their binding to polysaccharides or proteins via electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions. In particular, the properties of plant proteins with low water solubility can be enhanced, e.g., through post-translational modification, such as glycation. Furthermore, heteroprotein aggregates can serve as color and aroma stabilizers as well as encapsulation materials for nutritionally interesting components due to their interfacial activity and improved water-, fat-, and taste-binding abilities. In the production of functional glycated proteins, it is desirable to limit the progression of the Maillard reaction to the initial conjugation step. Furthermore, innovative processes such as extrusion, high shear, or electrospinning can enhance the technofunctional properties of foods, ingredients, additives, or packaging materials. This Special Issue is focused on the newest trends in the processing and application of functional food ingredients. This involves new applications and processes in food science that employ different production methods, as well as the use of new and alternative proteins or coacervates in various food applications. Furthermore, this issue will examine emerging trends and current strategies for enhancing yield, functionality, and nutritional profile.

Prof. Dr. Monika Gibis
Dr. Lisa M. Berger
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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
  • bioactive compounds
  • food processing
  • alternative proteins
  • food ingredient functionality

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4117 KiB  
Article
Physical and Sensory Properties of Vegan Organic Microalgae Pasta with High Protein and/or Fiber Content
by Marie-Christin Baune, Fabio Fanari, Thomas Lickert, Frank Schilling, Anna Claret, Luis Guerrero, Ute Bindrich, Volker Heinz and Nino Terjung
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 1639; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15031639 - 6 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 870
Abstract
Market opportunities for microalgae pasta increase if an added health value can be declared. This work aimed to develop organic, vegan, protein- and/or fiber-rich microalgae pasta. Chlorella vulgaris (CV) at 3% and 5%, denatured wheat gluten (dG) and/or apple fibers (AF) were added [...] Read more.
Market opportunities for microalgae pasta increase if an added health value can be declared. This work aimed to develop organic, vegan, protein- and/or fiber-rich microalgae pasta. Chlorella vulgaris (CV) at 3% and 5%, denatured wheat gluten (dG) and/or apple fibers (AF) were added to the dough and processing, cooking behavior, color, firmness, and sensory properties were investigated to test the influence of increasing protein and fiber contents and the impact of combined ingredients in comparison with the individual ingredients. For dG, the lowest impact on color and sensory changes (unaltered acceptance) was observed, but in combination with CV and AF, the overall effects were higher than with CV or AF alone. In addition, all dG-containing samples showed reduced water absorption and increased firmness, most likely due to a condensed protein network. CV and AF alone had no effect on firmness, but combinations did. AF slightly and 3% CV strongly affected odor, taste, and acceptance (27%) of the pasta. Combinations of CV with dG or AF increased the acceptability (45% and 36%, respectively), combinations of all ingredients worsened it (18%). We conclude that high protein and/or fiber Chlorella pasta is technically feasible, but that CV’s taste must be improved for greater acceptance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Application of Functional Food Ingredients)
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