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Foods
Special Issues
Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices
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Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 6149

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luisa Mannina

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome, Italy
Interests: food chemistry; advanced food analysis; NMR-based metabolomics; high resolution NMR; chemometrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mattia Spano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drugs, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: sample preparation; extraction protocols development; metabolomics; food analysis; nuclear magnetic resonance; high-performance liquid chromatography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of the journal Foods, titled “Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices”, that aims to present recent developments in the study of innovative food matrices.

The world of food chemistry is increasingly moving towards the discovery of new food sources characterized by a rich nutritional profile as well as safety for the consumer and environmental sustainability. This aim can be achieved through different approaches, such as considering the food application of a certain biological compounds never used for this purpose, applying a new production processes to "classic" food matrices, and isolating single compounds or mixtures to be used as food ingredients or supplements.

The present Special Issue will gather papers that cover innovative trends in this field, namely the characterization of the chemical, nutritional, and safety profiles of innovative and/or potential food matrices; the development of production and post-production approaches to change and/or improve the nutritional profile of food matrices; and the isolation of single compounds or mixtures to be used as food ingredients or supplements. All these new food sources will be considered from both the chemical and biological points of view.

Prof. Dr. Luisa Mannina
Dr. Mattia Spano
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

  • food chemistry
  • novel food
  • food analysis
  • food processing
  • food metabolomics
  • food safety
  • food quality
  • food biological activity

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 310 KiB  
Article
Eco-Friendly Extraction to Enhance Antioxidants and Nutritional Value in Arthrospira platensis
by Massimo Milia, Viviana Pasquini, Piero Addis and Alberto Angioni
Foods 2025, 14(9), 1510; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14091510 - 26 Apr 2025
Viewed by 318
Abstract
The cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) has a global annual production of approximately 18,000 tons. Spirulina has notable nutritional benefits and is a key component of dietary supplements. However, efficiently extracting its bioactive compounds poses challenges. This study aimed to develop an eco-innovative method [...] Read more.
The cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) has a global annual production of approximately 18,000 tons. Spirulina has notable nutritional benefits and is a key component of dietary supplements. However, efficiently extracting its bioactive compounds poses challenges. This study aimed to develop an eco-innovative method to enhance Spirulina’s antioxidant and nutritional values. The extraction protocol included a maceration step in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) at 5 °C for 48 h, followed by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) at 400 W and 30 kHz, with a frequency of 30 cycles per min (consisting of 1 s on/off cycles, for a total of 6 extraction cycles). The proposed methodology allowed for the quantitative recovery of high-value compounds from Spirulina raw material (control), with increased yields of total lipids (+20.29%), total fatty acids (+60.48%), allophycocyanin (Apc, +41.41%), phycoerythrin (Pe, +81.42%), carotenoids (+30.84%), and polyphenols (+65.99%), leading to a boost in antioxidant activity (+42.95%). Conversely, the recoveries of proteins (−16.65%), carbohydrates (−18.84%), and phycocyanin (Pc, −0.77%) were incomplete. This study suggests a green extraction approach using PBS coupled with UAE, with promising energy and cost savings and potential applications in the dietary supplement sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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20 pages, 4466 KiB  
Article
Data-Driven Monitoring of Probiotic Fermentation in Fruit Juices Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Aquaphotomics: An Innovative Approach to Food Valorization
by Lueji Regatieri, Flora Vitalis, Erika Bujna, Quang Duc Nguyen and Zoltan Kovacs
Foods 2025, 14(7), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14071274 - 5 Apr 2025
Viewed by 430
Abstract
The nutritional effects of fruit juices, combined with the added value of a probiotic, provide a plant-based fortified functional food. Some process-related drawbacks are caused by the pH parameter, which will affect the survival of probiotics during their industrial processing and storage. By [...] Read more.
The nutritional effects of fruit juices, combined with the added value of a probiotic, provide a plant-based fortified functional food. Some process-related drawbacks are caused by the pH parameter, which will affect the survival of probiotics during their industrial processing and storage. By means of developing a monitoring method for probiotic activity, the present study aims to investigate the application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) as a correlative analytical method for fermentation process tracking, in association with the different absorption patterns of bound water, explained by aquaphotomics. The data evaluated in the wavelength range of 1300–1600 nm indicate classification accuracies of 99–100% and 99–93% during calibration and validation, respectively, when applying PCA-LDA for discriminating the fermentation times, for each one of the single and mixed bacterial groups. During PLSR prediction, according to the fermentation times, the validation models developed for pH show coefficients of determination in the range of 0.96 to nearly 1 and root mean square errors of 0.05 and 0.19. On the other hand, for the PLSR prediction of log cell count (CFU/mL), validation modeling shows a coefficient of determination of 0.85 and a root mean square error of 0.23. All things considered, the results support the applicability of combining NIR and aquaphotomics as a bioprocess monitoring tool, which can be further implemented in different studies and industrial contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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25 pages, 4031 KiB  
Article
Flaxseed Oilcake: An Ingredient with High Nutritional Value in the Realization of Innovative Food Products
by Ancuța Petraru, Sonia Amariei and Lăcrimioara Senila
Foods 2025, 14(7), 1087; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14071087 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 440
Abstract
The by-products of the oil cold pressing of flaxseed are deemed to be safe, edible products. They have been shown to possess high nutritional value (compared with the seeds, they are richer in proteins and minerals) and adequate functional parameters (i.e., a high [...] Read more.
The by-products of the oil cold pressing of flaxseed are deemed to be safe, edible products. They have been shown to possess high nutritional value (compared with the seeds, they are richer in proteins and minerals) and adequate functional parameters (i.e., a high water-holding capacity and emulsion stability). In oilcakes, we found a portion of oil that was richer in unsaturated fatty acids (87.90%) than flax seeds (57.40%). Mg predominates in flax seeds, while Ce is predominant in flaxseed oilcake. Regarding essential amino acids, the seeds (76.71%) were found to be richer than the oilcake (70.46%). The use of methanol, low extraction temperatures, s high ultrasonic amplitude, and longer times resulted in the highest antioxidant capacity and phenolic content for flaxseed oilcake. Our analyses showed that oilcakes can be utilized as a functional ingredient or for the extraction of bioactive compounds, which can be incorporated into food products due to their nutritional, social, and economic benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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12 pages, 3504 KiB  
Article
Metabolomic Profiling of Tenebrio molitor Reared on Chestnut Shell-Enriched Substrate Using NMR Spectroscopy
by Irene Ferri, Mattia Spano, Matteo Dell’Anno, Luisa Mannina and Luciana Rossi
Foods 2024, 13(23), 3757; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13233757 - 24 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1155
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolomic profile of T. molitor larvae reared on the following innovative growth substrates: wheat bran (control, CTRL); wheat bran supplemented with 12.5% w/w chestnut shell (TRT1); and wheat bran supplemented with 25% [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolomic profile of T. molitor larvae reared on the following innovative growth substrates: wheat bran (control, CTRL); wheat bran supplemented with 12.5% w/w chestnut shell (TRT1); and wheat bran supplemented with 25% w/w chestnut shell (TRT2) for 14 days of trial. At the end of this experiment, larvae were transformed into insect meals for nutritional characterization. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was carried out to evaluate the metabolomic profile of organic acids, sugars, nitrogen bases and derivates, fatty acids, and other compounds. Chemical analysis showed an increased level of crude protein in TRT1 compared to CTRL and TRT2 (p = 0.0391). The metabolite profiles of TRT1 and TRT2 were similar to each other but distinct from those of the CTRL group. Notably, larvae enriched with chestnut shells revealed the presence of uracil, uridine, and glucose, while fumarate was absent. The enrichment analysis showed that in TRT1 and TRT2, the glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism was more relevant compared to CTRL. These findings indicate that chestnut shell inclusion affects the larvae metabolism of T. molitor and demonstrates the effectiveness of NMR spectroscopy in revealing a relation between insect metabolism and growth substrate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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13 pages, 17435 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Five Different Drying Methods on Volatile Organic Compounds in Mulberry Fruits
by Xinyi Yin, Wenxi Xiao, Shijia Zhang, Ziran Yu, Wen Ai, Shasha Fu, Jianjun Liu and Dan Huang
Foods 2024, 13(21), 3514; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13213514 - 2 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1686
Abstract
The mulberry fruit is edible and medicinal, and it is commonly referred to as the “best health product of the 21st century”. The purpose of this study was to find out whether different drying methods affect the quality of mulberry fruits and the [...] Read more.
The mulberry fruit is edible and medicinal, and it is commonly referred to as the “best health product of the 21st century”. The purpose of this study was to find out whether different drying methods affect the quality of mulberry fruits and the main nature of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they contain. This study used vacuum freeze-drying (VFD), vacuum drying (VD), sun drying (SD), hot-air drying (HAD), and microwave drying (MD) to treat fresh mulberry fruits. Gas-phase ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) was used to detect and analyze the VOCs in mulberry fruit samples treated with the different drying methods. There were 47 VOCs detected, with aldehydes and alcohols dominating. The obtained data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA), nearest neighbor fingerprint analysis, and partial least-squares regression analysis (PLS-DA). The conclusion was drawn that fresh mulberry fruits contain abundant VOCs, and mulberry fruits after VD contain many aldehydes; thus, VD promoted the synthesis of phellandrene and other compounds widely used in the preparation of cosmetics such as perfume and soap. HAD promoted the synthesis of esters commonly used in the preparation of fruit flavor and wine essence. The higher (E)-2-heptenal content with SD was conducive to the Maillard reaction. MD promoted the synthesis of heptanal and valeraldehyde with aroma characteristics such as fatty, green, fruity, grassy, and floral. According to the VIP results, VOCs (E)-2-heptenal, pentanal D, cyclohexanone, and 2-hexanone D influenced the VOCs in most of the mulberry fruit samples. The findings of this study provide an important reference for drying mulberry fruits, which, in turn, will help to ensure the safety and effectiveness of processed mulberry fruit products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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Review

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46 pages, 15585 KiB  
Review
Pot-Pollen Volatiles, Bioactivity, Synergism with Antibiotics, and Bibliometrics Overview, Including Direct Injection in Food Flavor
by Patricia Vit, Maria Araque, Bajaree Chuttong, Enrique Moreno, Ricardo R. Contreras, Qibi Wang, Zhengwei Wang, Emanuela Betta and Vassya Bankova
Foods 2024, 13(23), 3879; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13233879 - 30 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1261
Abstract
Stingless bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae; Meliponini), with a biodiversity of 605 species, harvest and transport corbicula pollen to the nest, like Apis mellifera, but process and store the pollen in cerumen pots instead of beeswax combs. Therefore, the meliponine pollen processed in the [...] Read more.
Stingless bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae; Meliponini), with a biodiversity of 605 species, harvest and transport corbicula pollen to the nest, like Apis mellifera, but process and store the pollen in cerumen pots instead of beeswax combs. Therefore, the meliponine pollen processed in the nest was named pot-pollen instead of bee bread. Pot-pollen has nutraceutical properties for bees and humans; it is a natural medicinal food supplement with applications in health, food science, and technology, and pharmaceutical developments are promising. Demonstrated synergism between Tetragonisca angustula pot-pollen ethanolic extracts, and antibiotics against extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria revealed potential to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Reviewed pot-pollen VOC richness was compared between Australian Austroplebeia australis (27), Tetragonula carbonaria (31), and Tetragonula hogkingsi (28), as well as the Venezuelan Tetragonisca angustula (95). Bioactivity and olfactory attributes of the most abundant VOCs were revisited. Bibliometric analyses with the Scopus database were planned for two unrelated topics in the literature for potential scientific advances. The top ten most prolific authors, institutions, countries, funding sponsors, and sources engaged to disseminate original research and reviews on pot-pollen (2014–2023) and direct injection food flavor (1976–2023) were ranked. Selected metrics and plots were visualized using the Bibliometrix-R package. A scholarly approach gained scientific insight into the interaction between an ancient fermented medicinal pot-pollen and a powerful bioanalytical technique for fermented products, which should attract interest from research teams for joint projects on direct injection in pot-pollen flavor, and proposals on stingless bee nest materials. Novel anti-antimicrobial-resistant agents and synergism with conventional antibiotics can fill the gap in the emerging potential to overcome antimicrobial resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery and Valorization of New Food Matrices)
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