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Foods
Special Issues
Bioactive Food Components: Exploring Nutritional Value and Disease Prevention Roles
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Bioactive Food Components: Exploring Nutritional Value and Disease Prevention Roles

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: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1627

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wencheng Zhang

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Guest Editor
Engineering Research Center of Bio-Process of Ministry of Education, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230601, China
Interests: food nutrition and bioactive compounds; biological treatment of agricultural products and development of edible enzymes; physical processing technology for agricultural products and the development of convenient foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zeyu Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Engineering Research Center of Bio-Process of Ministry of Education, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230601, China
Interests: egg nutrition and bioactive compounds; biological treatment of agricultural products and development of edible enzymes; physical processing technology for agricultural products and the development of convenient foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural products are rich in various bioactive compounds, which are naturally occurring substances in foods that offer additional health benefits beyond basic nutrition. These compounds possess specific functional properties that have a direct impact on human health. High-purity, natural bioactive compounds are crucial for exploring mechanisms and their potential application in preventing and treating various diseases. We will study innovative technologies, such as supercritical fluid extraction, ultra-high pressure, ultrasound technology, alternating electromagnetic field, and biological treatment, that have emerged as promising alternatives. Additionally, we will emphasize research on the development of nutritional functional foods, thereby exploring the potential for harnessing the health-beneficial characteristics of these highly significant yet underutilized new sources of natural products.

Prof. Dr. Wencheng Zhang
Dr. Zeyu Wu
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

  • ultra-high pressure
  • supercritical fluid extraction
  • natural bioactive compounds
  • functional properties
  • edible jiaosu
  • food cooked with medicinal herbs

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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17 pages, 3530 KB  
Article
Dual-Species Fermentation of a Lycium barbarum–Polygonatum cyrtonema Composite Jiaosu Enhanced Antioxidant Activity and Alleviated Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice
by Shuyuan Yang, Bingcan Liu, Honghui Geng, Zhen Yu, Wenge Xu, Can Hu, An Zhou, Wencheng Zhang and Zeyu Wu
Foods 2026, 15(8), 1435; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15081435 - 20 Apr 2026
Viewed by 474
Abstract
Lycium barbarum–Polygonatum cyrtonema composite jiaosu (LBPCJ) was prepared by sequential dual-species fermentation and evaluated in a mouse model of alcohol-induced liver injury. Following process optimization, a yeast-first sequential strategy with intermediate pasteurization was selected, comprising an initial Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation step, [...] Read more.
Lycium barbarum–Polygonatum cyrtonema composite jiaosu (LBPCJ) was prepared by sequential dual-species fermentation and evaluated in a mouse model of alcohol-induced liver injury. Following process optimization, a yeast-first sequential strategy with intermediate pasteurization was selected, comprising an initial Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation step, intermediate pasteurization, and a subsequent Lactiplantibacillus plantarum fermentation step. Fermentation reduced pH from 4.68 to 3.51 and increased total acidity from 61.06 to 135.39 g LA/L and total phenolic content from 3.01 to 9.39 mg GAE/mL. In vitro antioxidant-related activities were also higher after fermentation, with DPPH, ABTS, and •OH scavenging rates increasing by 39.90%, 29.78%, and 11.10%, respectively. In mice, LBPCJ administration was associated with lower liver index and serum aminotransferase levels, together with attenuated hepatic histopathological alterations, with the high-dose group (15 mL/kg BW) showing the clearest response. These changes were accompanied by higher hepatic SOD and GSH levels and lower MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels. LBJ and PCJ also improved several measured indicators, while LBPCJ showed changes across multiple endpoints under the tested conditions. Overall, sequential fermentation markedly altered the physicochemical and antioxidant-related properties of LBPCJ, and LBPCJ administration improved multiple indicators related to alcohol-induced liver injury in mice, although the specific constituents and underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Food Components: Exploring Nutritional Value and Disease Prevention Roles)
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17 pages, 3167 KB  
Article
A Water-Soluble Polysaccharide from Lophatherum gracile Brongn.: Structure Characterization and Antitumor Activity In Vivo
by Xiaojing Zhang, Huizhen Xing, Huiping Liu and Xiaowei Zhang
Foods 2026, 15(8), 1300; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15081300 - 9 Apr 2026
Viewed by 424
Abstract
Lophatherum gracile Brongn. (L. gracile) has been utilized as a food or medicinal plant for a long time. A series of chemical and spectroscopic methods was used to characterize the extracted and purified L. gracile polysaccharide (LGP). Its in vivo [...] Read more.
Lophatherum gracile Brongn. (L. gracile) has been utilized as a food or medicinal plant for a long time. A series of chemical and spectroscopic methods was used to characterize the extracted and purified L. gracile polysaccharide (LGP). Its in vivo antitumor activity in the H22 tumor-bearing mice model was studied. LGP has a molecular weight of 1.42 × 106 Da and is mainly composed of arabinose (Ara), galactose (Gal), xylose (Xyl), and other monosaccharides. NMR spectra suggest that LGP may be composed of 1,3-β-Galp and 1,3,6-β-Galp main chains, and a side chain formed by a 1,5-α-Araf short chain. The termini are composed of T-α-Araf, while [→4) -α-GalpA-(1→2)-α-Rhap-(1→] are attached to the backbone as short side chains, and the other monosaccharides are an arabinogalactan composed of the termini. SEM and AFM revealed that LGP presents a lamellar morphology with smooth surfaces and notable molecular aggregation. The Congo red assay, CD spectroscopy, and XRD collectively indicated the absence of a triple helix conformation and an overall amorphous structure in LGP. Compared with the model group, LGP treatment improved body responses, immune organs, and SOD and MDA levels. The tumor cell apoptosis rate in the high-dose LGP group was 50.0%. In the distribution of the tumor cell cycle, the proportions of the S phase were 29.1% and 41.1% in the low-dose LGP and high-dose LGP groups, respectively, compared with 12.2% in the model group. These results suggest that LGP exhibits preliminary antitumor activity, indicating its potential as a candidate for further cancer research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Food Components: Exploring Nutritional Value and Disease Prevention Roles)
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19 pages, 4148 KB  
Article
Enrichment of Alkaloids from Cinnamomum camphora Seed Kernels Using Macroporous Resin: Adsorption/Desorption Behavior, Process Optimization and Scale-Up Study
by Rongping Fu, Xianghui Yan, Zheling Zeng, Yujing Yang, Pinpin Zhang, Yuling Lin, Deming Gong and Ping Yu
Foods 2026, 15(6), 1054; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15061054 - 17 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 425
Abstract
The Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK) shows great promise as a natural source of bioactive alkaloids. However, there is little data about recovering alkaloids from CCSK by-products after oil extraction using an aqueous method. This study aimed to establish an efficient technology for [...] Read more.
The Cinnamomum camphora seed kernel (CCSK) shows great promise as a natural source of bioactive alkaloids. However, there is little data about recovering alkaloids from CCSK by-products after oil extraction using an aqueous method. This study aimed to establish an efficient technology for enriching CCSK alkaloids (including magnoflorine, lindoldhamine and N,N-methyldomesticinium) using macroporous resin technology. The results showed that XR918C resin was the most suitable adsorbent due to its high adsorption/desorption capacity for CCSK alkaloids. The adsorption process was best described by Langmuir isotherm models and pseudo-second-order kinetics; it was spontaneous and physical in nature. The optimum procedure for CCSK alkaloids enrichment using XR918C resin was as follows: for adsorption, the injection flow rate and sample volume were 2.0 BV/h and 7.0 BV, respectively; for desorption, the eluent type, elution flow rate and volume were 80% ethanol, 2.0 BV/h and 6.0 BV, respectively. Furthermore, the scale-up of the CCSK alkaloid enrichment process was performed under optimal conditions. Following the 10-fold scale-up enrichment, the content of CCSK alkaloids was raised 4.41-fold, with a recovery rate of 89.19 ± 0.01%. After nine regeneration cycles, the efficiency of the XR918C resin remained stable, indicating its good reusability. In addition, CCSK alkaloids exhibited strong in vitro antioxidant activity. This study provides a useful reference for the industrial-scale enrichment of CCSK alkaloids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Food Components: Exploring Nutritional Value and Disease Prevention Roles)
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