Advances in Food Science: Bioactive Ingredients for Health Promotion and Specific Populations’ Needs
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 October 2026 | Viewed by 548
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cereal; legumes; nixtamalization; polyphenols; peptides; solid state fermentation; antioxidant properties; functional foods
Interests: vegetable protein extraction; protein extraction processes; protein isolates; protein concentrates; protein structure; dairy-based protein; breast milk
Interests: bioactive peptides; polyphenols, alternative proteins, novel food ingredients; milpa system crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent advances in food science have revolutionized the development of bioactive ingredients for health promotion and personalized nutrition tailored to specific populations. Bioactive compounds—such as polyphenols, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and peptides—exert therapeutic effects through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut-modulating mechanisms, thereby helping mitigate chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Biotechnological innovations, including isolation and purification, encapsulation, and AI-driven predictive modeling for bioactive compounds, enhance the stability, bioavailability, and their delivery in functional foods (e.g., fortified dairy products, bread, beverages, and prebiotics). Precision nutrition leverages omics technologies to personalize interventions, addressing the needs of vulnerable groups such as infants, older adults, and individuals with micronutrient deficiencies through biofortification and sustainable sourcing (e.g., upcycled by-products and alternative proteins). Challenges remain in regulatory approval, consumer acceptance, and matrix interactions affecting bioaccessibility and bioavailability. However, multidisciplinary approaches integrating food chemistry, microbiome research, and systems biology promise scalable, evidence-based strategies for disease prevention and human health.
Themes:
- Bioactive Compounds: Polyphenols, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and peptides that exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut-modulating bioactivities against chronic diseases in in vivo
- Biotechnological Innovations: Purification, encapsulation technologies, and AI-driven predictive modeling to optimize stability, bioavailability, and delivery within functional foods.
- Precision Nutrition: Omics-based personalization of dietary interventions for vulnerable populations, including infants, older adults, and micronutrient-deficient individuals through biofortification.
- Sustainable Sourcing: Use of upcycled by-products and alternative proteins to enhance nutritional value while promoting environmental sustainability.
- Regulatory and Consumer Challenges: Hurdles in approval processes, acceptance, and matrix interactions impacting bioactive efficacy in fortified products.
- Multidisciplinary Integration: Synergistic integration of food chemistry, microbiome research, and systems biology for scalable disease prevention and strategies for human health.
Dr. Saraid Mora-Rochín
Dr. Cristina Chuck-Hernández
Dr. Luis Mojica
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
- bioactive compounds
- precision nutrition
- purification
- functional foods
- human health
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