Extraction of Bioactives from Fruit and Vegetables: Physicochemical, Processing, and Nutritional Properties

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 345

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory for Separation Processes and Product Design, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: supercritical fluids; supercritical fluid extraction; bioactive compounds; phytochemicals; nutraceuticals; functional foods
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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Braccini, 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: fruit quality (pome, stone and berry); postharvest; storage of fresh and fresh-cut fruit; organoleptic and nutraceutical characteristics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue, titled "Extraction of Bioactives From Fruit and Vegetables: Physicochemical, Processing and Nutritional Properties", will underline the growing interest in the use of natural substances for health-promoting applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

Bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamins and dietary fibres from fruits and vegetables play a key role in promoting human health due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and preventive properties. This Special Issue will provide an in-depth overview of the latest developments in extraction technologies, including conventional and innovative extraction methods. Particular attention will be given to sustainable extraction methods, such as ultrasonic extraction, supercritical fluid extraction and enzyme-assisted techniques, including the use of environmentally friendly solvents and the utilisation of food by-products, in line with global efforts to achieve environmentally friendly and cost-effective production systems. This Special Issue will also encourages authors to investigate how the physicochemical properties of bioactives, such as solubility, polarity and thermal stability, affect their extraction efficiency and stability and how different processing technologies (thermal and non-thermal) impact the nutritional quality, bioavailability and functional properties of the resulting products.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews and case studies that address challenges and opportunities related to the extraction, characterisation and use of bioactive compounds to share knowledge and to accelerate the development of health-promoting products derived from fruit and vegetables.

Dr. Darija Cör Andrejč
Dr. Giovanna Giacalone
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 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

  • super-critical extraction
  • sustainable extraction methods
  • functional foods
  • phytochemicals
  • bioactive compounds
  • antioxidant activity
  • anti-inflammatory properties
  • applications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1332 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Anthocyanin Extraction from Purple Sweet Potato Peel (Ipomea batata) Using Sonotrode Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction
by Raquel Lucas-González, Mirian Pateiro, Rubén Domínguez-Valencia, Celia Carrillo and José M. Lorenzo
Foods 2025, 14(15), 2686; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14152686 - 30 Jul 2025
Viewed by 163
Abstract
Sweet potato is a valuable root due to its nutritional benefits, health-promoting properties, and technological applications. The peel, often discarded during food processing, can be employed in the food industry, supporting a circular economy. Purple sweet potato peel (PSPP) is rich in anthocyanins, [...] Read more.
Sweet potato is a valuable root due to its nutritional benefits, health-promoting properties, and technological applications. The peel, often discarded during food processing, can be employed in the food industry, supporting a circular economy. Purple sweet potato peel (PSPP) is rich in anthocyanins, which can be used as natural colourants and antioxidants. Optimising their extraction can enhance yield and reduce costs. The current work aimed to optimize anthocyanin and antioxidant recovery from PSPP using a Box-Behnken design and sonotrode ultrasound-assisted extraction (sonotrode-UAE). Three independent variables were analysed: extraction time (2–6 min), ethanol concentration (35–85%), and liquid-to-solid ratio (10–30 mL/g). The dependent variables included total monomeric anthocyanin content (TMAC), individual anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity. TMAC in 15 extracts ranged from 0.16 to 2.66 mg/g PSPP. Peonidin-3-caffeoyl-p-hydroxybenzoyl sophoroside-5-glucoside was the predominant anthocyanin. Among four antioxidant assays, Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) showed the highest value. Ethanol concentration significantly influenced anthocyanin and antioxidant recovery (p < 0.05). The model demonstrated adequacy based on the coefficient of determination and variation. Optimal extraction conditions were 6 min with 60% ethanol at a 30 mL/g ratio. Predicted values were validated experimentally (coefficient of variation <10%). In conclusion, PSPP is a promising matrix for obtaining anthocyanin-rich extracts with antioxidant activity, offering potential applications in the food industry. Full article
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