Bioactive Polysaccharides Interacting with Polyphenols and Proteins in Food Systems: Structures, Physicochemical Properties and Functions
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Physics and (Bio)Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 397
Editors
Interests: biopolymers; polysaccharides; biodegradable; polymer composites; hydrogel
Interests: trans fatty acids; functional edible oil; functional lipid synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: starch; hydrogel; packaging; reactive extrusion; natural polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bioactive polysaccharides are polymeric macromolecules composed of more than ten monosaccharide units linked through glycosidic bonds. As an important class of biologically active substances, they exhibit a wide range of physiological functions, including immunomodulatory, antioxidant and gut microbiota–regulating activities. During food processing, polysaccharides can interact with polyphenols and proteins through both non-covalent and covalent associations, leading to alterations in their spatial conformation and molecular aggregation behavior. These interactions consequently modulate the structural characteristics, functional properties and application performance of polysaccharides. A comprehensive understanding of the interactions between polysaccharides, polyphenols and proteins, as well as their underlying mechanisms, is therefore essential for the rational optimization of food processing and the development of functional food systems.
- The Special Issue will cover the following scientific topics:
- Advanced extraction and preparation technologies for polysaccharides, proteins and polyphenols;
- Chemical, physical and enzymatic modification strategies and their applications in polysaccharides, polyphenols and proteins;
- Structural transformations and associated changes in functional properties of natural components during modification processes;
- Structure–function relationships of natural components arising from intra- and intermolecular interactions, particularly among polysaccharides, proteins and polyphenols;
- Emerging trends and future industrial applications of polysaccharides, polyphenols and proteins in food, nutrition and biomedicine;
- Any other topics that are closely aligned with the core themes and scientific scope of this Special Issue.
Dr. Zuman Dou
Prof. Dr. Weimin Zhang
Dr. Qingfei Duan
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-anonymized 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
- polysaccharide
- polyphenol
- protein
- interaction
- structure-function
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