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Special Issue "Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value"

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 January 2024 | Viewed by 5803

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lucía Cassani

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Guest Editor

Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Analytical and Food Chemistry Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Ourense Campus, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: fruit and vegetable quality; bioactive compounds; green processing; functional foods; waste recycling; nanoencapsulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Andrea Gomez-Zavaglia

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Guest Editor

Center for Research and Development in Food Cryotechnology, (CIDCA-CONICET-UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
Interests: probiotics; prebiotics; fermented products; circular economy; food processing; green synthesis processes; structure function relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing demand for fresh fruit- and vegetable-based products is related to growing evidence regarding both their nutritional value and the presence of health-promoting compounds. However, fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable, leading to significant losses throughout the whole supply chain. Thus, extending the shelf-life of minimally processed fruit and vegetables while retaining overall quality remains a challenging task. For this purpose, the application of emerging processes and the development of edible coating and films are some of the currently applied strategies to overcome these disadvantages. On the other hand, innovative approaches have been proposed to valorize waste and fruit and vegetable by-products, including green extraction procedures for bioactive ingredients, micro/nanoencapsulation, fermentation processes, and the synthesis of nanoparticles, among others. Thus, the present Special Issue aims to provide an overview of the recent advancements in processes toward maintaining the overall quality (microbiological, sensory, and nutritional) of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables for prolonged storage as well as green approaches that deal with valorizing wastes from the agro-food industry. The development of novel functional foods containing fruit- and vegetable-waste-based ingredients will be also considered.

We invite researchers to submit original research or review articles to this Special Issue that are in line with the above-mentioned objectives. These high-quality articles should consider one or more of the following topics: emerging preservation technology, edible coatings and films, fermentation processes, green extraction technologies, micro/nanoencapsulation, the synthesis of nanoparticles with application in the food industry, the incorporation of bioactive compounds into functional foods, and/or sustainable valorizing processes.

Dr. Lucía Cassani
Dr. Andrea Gomez-Zavaglia
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

valorizing strategies
overall quality
extended shelf-life
green processes
bioactive compounds
stabilizing approaches
nanotechnology
functional foods

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Chickpeas’ and Lentils’ Soaking and Cooking Wastewaters Repurposed for Growing Lactic Acid Bacteria

Gonçalo Nuno Martins

Angela Daniela Carboni

Ayelén Amelia Hugo

Paula Cristina Castilho

and

Andrea Gómez-Zavaglia

Foods 2023, 12(12), 2324; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12122324 - 09 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1036

Abstract

Legumes processing involves large amounts of water to remove anti-nutrients, reduce uncomfortable effects, and improve organoleptic characteristics. This procedure generates waste and high levels of environmental pollution. This work aims to evaluate the galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) and general carbohydrate composition of legume wastewaters and assess their potential for growing lactic acid bacteria. Legume wastewater extracts were produced by soaking and/or cooking the dry seeds of chickpeas and lentils in distilled water and analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography with refractive index detection. GOS were present in all extracts, which was also confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). C-BW extract, produced by cooking chickpeas without soaking, provided the highest extraction yield of 3% (g/100 g dry seeds). Lentil extracts were the richest source of GOS with degree of polymerization ≥ 5 (0.4%). Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CIDCA 83114 was able to grow in de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) broth prepared by replacing the glucose naturally present in the medium with chickpeas’ and lentils’ extracts. Bacteria were able to consume the mono and disaccharides present in the media with extracts, as demonstrated by HPLC and FTIR. These results provide support for the revalorisation of chickpeas’ and lentils’ wastewater, being also a sustainable way to purify GOS by removing mono and disaccharides from the mixtures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value)

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Open AccessArticle

Using HPLC-MS/MS to Determine the Loss of Primary and Secondary Metabolites in the Dehydration Process of Apple Slices

and

Foods 2023, 12(6), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12061201 - 12 Mar 2023

Viewed by 826

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare peeled and unpeeled dehydrated apple slices of the red-fleshed ‘Baya Marisa’ and the white-fleshed ‘Golden Delicious’, to analyze the difference in the content of sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds during the heat process of dehydration, and to compare it with our previous study on fresh apples of the same cultivar. The purpose of these study was to see how many primary and secondary metabolites are lost in the dehydration process to better understand what is ingested by consumers in terms of nutritional value. A total of 30 phenolic compounds were identified and quantified, some of them for the first time. The total analyzed phenolic content (TAPC) of the unpeeled dehydrated apple slices was 1.7 times higher in ‘Golden Delicious’ than in ‘Baya Marisa’. The unpeeled dehydrated apple slices of ‘Golden Delicious’ had higher total hydroxycinnamic acid (2.7×) and dihydrochalcone (1.2×) content. The peeled dehydrated apple slices of ‘Baya Marisa’ had higher total dihydrochalcone (2.2×) and total flavanol (2.2×) content compared to ‘Golden Delicious’. The content of citric and malic acids was higher in the unpeeled and peeled dehydrated apple slices of ‘Baya Marisa’, compared to ‘Golden Delicious’. The content of ascorbic acid was higher in the unpeeled (1.6×) and peeled (1.8×) dried apple slices of ‘Baya Marisa’. The content of fructose and glucose was 1.4 times higher in the unpeeled dried apple slices of ‘Golden Delicious’. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluation and Optimization of Quality Based on the Physicochemical Characteristics and Metabolites Changes of Qingpi during Storage

and

Foods 2023, 12(3), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12030463 - 19 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1046

Abstract

Qingpi, the dried immature pericarp of Citrus reticulata Blanco, is a commonly used medicinal food with some health-promoting benefits. In general, it is essential that Qingpi be stored for a period of time, but there are no reports about the number of storage years needed to obtain the best quality of Qingpi. Our aim was to determine the best storage time of Qingpi by studying the physicochemical properties and metabolite changes in product stored from 1 to 5 years. As a result, the color of Qingpi became darker during storage. Both the levels of three flavonoids (hesperidin, nobiletin, and tangeretin) and total flavonoids (TFs) and the antioxidant activity decreased during storage and the total phenolics (TPs) content fluctuated during storage. Cluster analysis was performed on the color parameters measured using a color difference meter, revealing that the color of Qingpi differed before and after 3 years of storage. A total of 9 special differential metabolites were identified that could be used to distinguish the storage years of Qingpi. This is the first study to report the quality changes of Qingpi during storage. The optimized results of the quality evaluation indicated that Qingpi should be stored for no more than 3 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value)

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Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Juglone and Other Allelochemicals in Walnut Leaves on Yield, Quality and Metabolites of Snack Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Mariana Cecilia Grohar

and

Robert Veberic

Foods 2023, 12(2), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12020371 - 12 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1339

Abstract

The consumption of fresh vegetables has been consistently associated with numerous health benefits. However, several factors (such as allelochemicals) influence yield, quality, and metabolites, which inevitably affect the fruit quality and health benefits. The present study was conducted to investigate the yield, quality, metabolic responses, and potential toxicity of Cucumis sativus grown in juglone-containing soils. For the treatments, pure juglone (100 µM, 1 mM) and walnut leaf extracts (100 µM) in soil concentrations found in walnut orchards were used. A total of 36 phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in fruits, leaves, and roots using a mass spectrometer coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography. We concluded that juglone at a concentration of 100 µM or walnut leaf extract at the same juglone concentration does not affect the yield of C. sativus, while juglone at a concentration of 1 mM strongly affects it. In the case of juglone, juglone itself was found only in the roots of C. sativus, but not in the leaves or fruits, so C. sativus fruits are considered safe for cultivation in juglone-containing soils. However, this could prove problematic if the plants grown are tubers or root vegetables. The data suggest that juglone itself inhibits secondary metabolism in the plant, making it more susceptible to stress and pathogen attacks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Recent Progress in Understanding the Impact of Food Processing and Storage on the Structure–Activity Relationship of Fucoxanthin

Andrea Gomez-Zavaglia

Lillian Barros

Miguel A. Prieto

and

Lucía Cassani

Foods 2023, 12(17), 3167; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12173167 - 23 Aug 2023

Viewed by 829

Abstract

Fucoxanthin, a brown algae carotenoid, has attracted great interest because of its numerous biological activities supported by in vitro and in vivo studies. However, its chemical structure is susceptible to alterations when subjected to food processing and storage conditions, such as heat, oxygen, light, and pH changes. Consequently, these conditions lead to the formation of fucoxanthin derivatives, including cis-isomers, apo-fucoxanthinone, apo-fucoxanthinal, fucoxanthinol, epoxides, and hydroxy compounds, collectively known as degradation products. Currently, little information is available regarding the stability and functionality of these fucoxanthin derivatives resulting from food processing and storage. Therefore, enhancing the understanding of the biological effect of fucoxanthin derivatives is crucial for optimizing the utilization of fucoxanthin in various applications and ensuring its efficacy in potential health benefits. To this aim, this review describes the main chemical reactions affecting the stability of fucoxanthin during food processing and storage, facilitating the identification of the major fucoxanthin derivatives. Moreover, recent advancements in the structure–activity relationship of fucoxanthin derivatives will be critically assessed, emphasizing their biological activity. Overall, this review provides a critical updated understanding of the effects of technological processes on fucoxanthin stability and activity that can be helpful for stakeholders when designing processes for food products containing fucoxanthin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit and Vegetable Quality, Bioactive Compounds and Nutritional Value)

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