Maillard Reaction: From Protein Modification to Food Application and Nutrition
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Physics and (Bio)Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2025) | Viewed by 2626
Special Issue Editors
Interests: design of vehicles for targeted delivery of bioactive compounds into the gastrointestinal tract; Maillard reaction; biopolymer characterization; bioactive compounds; carbohydrate–protein interactions; emerging technologies in food and biopolymer processing; circular economy; alternative proteins; gut–brain axis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bioactive peptides; polyphenols, alternative proteins, novel food ingredients; milpa system crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food digestion; food science; bioactive compounds; inflammation; colon cancer; obesity; nutrition; nutrigenomics; biochemistry; food technology; phenolic compounds; dietary fiber; short-chain fatty acids; gut microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Maillard reaction (MR) is a complex non-enzymatic browning process involving amino compounds and reducing sugars, serving as a central concept in food science and processing. The MR is closely associated with developing desirable sensory characteristics such as color, aroma, and flavor in heat-treated food products. However, the MR also serves as a powerful tool for protein structure modification, particularly through glycosylation or the formation of protein–polysaccharide conjugates. These modifications are increasingly used to improve techno-functional properties such as solubility and thermal heat resistance, leading to the creation of novel functional ingredients. Furthermore, these modified macromolecules have shown great promise in advanced applications, serving as carriers and stabilizers for bioactive compounds and sensitive lipids. However, the impact of MR is complex. While the intermediate products of the reaction, known as Maillard reaction products (MRPs), can offer benefits such as antioxidant capacity and significant biological effects, the MR can also decrease the nutritional value of food by causing the loss of essential amino acids and generating unwanted breakdown products such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and, in extreme cases, acrylamides.
In this Special Issue, "Maillard Reaction: From Protein Modification to Food Application and Nutrition", we welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews. We invite contributions that address a wide range of MR aspects. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) reaction mechanisms, novel protein modification strategies for the formulation of new functional ingredients, innovative applications for the development of functional foods, and vehicles for the delivery of bioactive compounds. Additionally, we welcome discussions on control methodologies, the implications of advanced MR products, and biosafety assurance in thermally processed foods.
Dr. Angel H. Cabrera-Ramírez
Dr. Luis Mojica
Dr. Ivan Luzardo-Ocampo
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
- Maillard reaction (MR)
- protein modification
- functional ingredients
- functional foods
- bioactive compounds
- food application and nutrition
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