Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.7
5.1
Journals
Foods
Special Issues
Natural Bioactive Compounds: Extraction, Function and Application Research in Food
share announcement

Natural Bioactive Compounds: Extraction, Function and Application Research in Food

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2026) | Viewed by 1981

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Valentina Santoro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: food chemistry; phytochemistry; mass spectrometry; liquid chromatography; green extraction; natural product
Dr. Rita Celano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Interests: food chemistry; antioxidants; natural products; mass spectrometry; liquid chromatography; extraction; environmental chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds, flavonoid, carotenoids, and alkaloids, are derived from plants and have been extensively studied for their significant health-promoting effects. These compounds are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties.

Consumer awareness of the benefits of natural compounds has been steadily increasing. In recent years, the rising demand for products enriched with natural functional compounds has promoted the development of innovative extraction strategies for the efficient recovery of valuable compounds from plant raw material, enabling their use as ingredients in functional foods designed to prevent disease and promote overall health. The continued exploration and incorporation of these plant-based bioactive compounds into modern products reflects a growing trend toward healthier and more sustainable consumption.

In this Special Issue, we invite you to contribute your latest research findings, including original articles or comprehensive reviews, on the discovery, recovery and potential application of natural bioactive compounds for the development of healthy food.

Dr. Valentina Santoro
Dr. Rita Celano
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-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

  • green extraction
  • bioactive compounds
  • agricultural byproduct
  • functional food
  • novel food
  • plant profiling
  • health promoting

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2242 KB  
Article
Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction, Macroporous Resin Purification, and Antioxidant Activity of Chlorogenic Acid from Eucommia ulmoides Leaves
by Qian Wang, Xiaoxiao Liang, Xia Xiong, Yulong Yin, Keke Li and Yong Zhang
Foods 2026, 15(4), 784; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15040784 - 21 Feb 2026
Viewed by 521
Abstract
Chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves is a promising natural antioxidant for food applications, yet its extraction and purification require optimization to improve yield and purity. This study employed ultrasound-assisted ethanol extraction on fresh leaves, evaluating the effects of ethanol concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, [...] Read more.
Chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves is a promising natural antioxidant for food applications, yet its extraction and purification require optimization to improve yield and purity. This study employed ultrasound-assisted ethanol extraction on fresh leaves, evaluating the effects of ethanol concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, extraction time, and temperature on CGA yield. Optimal extraction parameters were determined using response surface methodology. Purification with NKA-II macroporous resin increased CGA purity to 82.72%. SEM analysis revealed wrinkled and porous surface structures, while FTIR confirmed the presence of characteristic hydroxyl, carbonyl, and aromatic groups. Under optimized conditions (70% ethanol, solid-to-liquid ratio 1:20 g/mL, 58 °C, 61 min), the extraction yield reached 6.96%. In vitro assays demonstrated strong antioxidant activity, with scavenging rates of 96.01% for DPPH, 89.69% for hydroxyl, and 99.82% for ABTS radicals at 5 mg/mL. These findings provide an efficient method for obtaining chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves and support its potential as a functional food ingredient. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds: Extraction, Function and Application Research in Food)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1629 KB  
Article
Optimising Green Pressurised Liquid Extraction and Sustainability Assessment of Carotenoid-Rich Extracts from Daucus carota L. Pomace
by Lidia Favaretto, Stefania Pagliari, Ciro Cannavacciuolo, Luca Campone and Massimo Labra
Foods 2025, 14(21), 3740; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14213740 - 31 Oct 2025
Viewed by 841
Abstract
The increasing food waste generated along the food chain should be considered as a source of high-value compounds, with the aim of improving the circularity of productions. In this study, carrot pomace, the major by-product of carrot juice processing, was used as a [...] Read more.
The increasing food waste generated along the food chain should be considered as a source of high-value compounds, with the aim of improving the circularity of productions. In this study, carrot pomace, the major by-product of carrot juice processing, was used as a source of carotenoids. For the valorisation of this by-product, different non-conventional extraction methods of carotenoids such as Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) and Pressurised Liquid Extraction (PLE) have been developed. For the latter, the main parameters influencing the extraction have been optimised using a multivariate response surface design. Compared with previous reports, this study advances the current knowledge by using only food-grade ethanol/water mixtures as solvents and by combining the optimisation of carotenoid recovery with the measurement of energy consumption to evaluate process efficiency. Moreover, the sustainability of the extraction was quantitatively assessed using the AGREEprep metric, providing a more integrated and environmentally sound strategy for the valorisation of Daucus carota L. pomace. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds: Extraction, Function and Application Research in Food)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop