Extraction of Bioactive Compounds in Food: Technologies, Challenges, and Perspectives
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 565
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bio-based ingredients; stabilization of natural additives; functional foods; extraction optimization; food science and technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The recovery of molecules from natural matrices is a hot research topic, as they are believed to have bioactive properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial ones. The food industry generates tons of biological waste every year, much of which is disposed of in landfills, posing a global environmental problem. This biowaste is a source of bioactive compounds of interest to various industries, such as the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutraceutical sectors. Therefore, it is essential to implement efficient circular systems that enable the recycling of biowaste from the food industry into high-value ingredients, thus contributing to its valorization.
The extraction of bioactive compounds is an area that is constantly evolving, with the goal of applying more efficient, economically viable, and ecological extraction techniques. Indeed, it is crucial to apply more environmentally friendly extraction technologies based on green chemistry principles, focusing on the extraction of target compounds with solvents which are harmless to human health and the environment and on the use of safe and energy-efficient processes.
In this Special Issue, entitled the "Extraction of Bioactive Compounds in Food: Technologies, Challenges, and Perspectives", we aim to advance knowledge on the recovery of bioactive food compounds by publishing review articles and innovative and groundbreaking research on this topic. Researchers are encouraged to address fundamental issues related to the use and application of these compounds, as well as the challenges they face in achieving their goal and their application perspectives in different industries. The main topics will include food sources for bioactive compounds, new green extraction methods, compound characterization, the elucidation of bioactive mechanisms, and the mention of the main challenges in the valorization of food compounds, alongside a constant focus on their applicability at the industrial level.
We hope that everyone will feel compelled to contribute to this collection to further understand and improve the diverse applications and bioactive properties of biowaste-recovered natural compounds for real-world applications in a wide range of industries.
Dr. Sandrina A. Heleno
Dr. Filipa A. Fernandes
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. Foods 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 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.
Keywords
- natural bioactive compounds
- food biowaste
- emerging extraction processes
- new opportunities
- industrial applications
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