Special Issue "Innovative Natural Functional Ingredients from Plant Extracts in the Food Industry"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Gema Nieto
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology, Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Regional Campus of International Excellence “Campus Mare Nostrum”, Espinardo, 30071 Murcia, Spain
Interests: natural extracts; meat science; bakery science; dairy products; lipolysis and proteolysis; bioactive compounds; development of healthier food products; nutrients; bioactive compounds; food preservation; bioaccessibility; bioavailability
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue reviews and discusses the diversity of plant extract that may beneficially contribute to the preservation of foods and elaboration of functional foods. Functional foods have both physiological and nutritional benefits and can be used as a potential strategy to improve human health because they can help to reduce the risk of disease development and, consequently, promote health and wellbeing. Epidemiological and nutritional studies have shown that plants are an abundant source of nutraceutical components having health-promoting and disease-preventing properties. Several plant-based foods are thought to be rich in bioactive compounds with physiological effects, such as antimutagenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or antibacterial activities. In this sense, the inclusion of natural extracts into meat, bakery, and dairy-based products could be an interesting strategy to produce functional foods.

For this Special Issue, the Guest Editor has brought together contributions from a group of outstanding international researchers to produce a valuable resource for researchers, faculty, students, food nutrition and health practitioners, and all those working in the food and nutraceutical industries, especially in the development of functional foods in the meat, bakery and dairy industry. This Special Issue of Foods will contribute to knowledge of plant extracts from several aspects, such as preservative properties, and health effects including studies of in vivo biological activity of bioactive compounds. 

In this Special Issue, we invite investigators to contribute with original research articles, as well as review articles, focused on the characterization of the bioactive properties of plant extracts and covering challenges and achievements in the study of its inclusion into functional foods. Papers focused on the bioavailability/bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds and related to the application of bioactive compounds of natural origin to limit the use of synthetic additives and the development of functional foods will be particularly welcome.

This Special Issue of Foods will contribute to knowledge of plant extracts from several aspects, such as:

  • Bioactive compounds;
  • Antioxidant activity;
  • Antimicrobial activity;
  • Preservatives’ properties;
  • Medicinal plants as natural ingredients;
  • Diversity of plant secondary metabolites;
  • Natural extracts as preservatives in meat products, bakery products, milk products, beverages, etc.;
  • In vitro and in vivo biological activity of plant secondary metabolites.

Dr. Gema Nieto
Guest Editor

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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 2000 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
  • antioxidant activity
  • antimicrobial activity
  • preservatives properties
  • functional foods
  • bioavailability
  • meat products
  • dairy products
  • bakery products

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Investigation of Photoprotective, Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant Capacities and LC–ESI–MS Phenolic Profile of Astragalus gombiformis Pomel
Foods 2021, 10(8), 1937; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081937 - 20 Aug 2021
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Abstract
Plant-derived compounds have recently been gaining popularity as skincare factors due to their ability to absorb ultraviolet radiations and their anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. In this light, this work aimed to evaluate in vitro the pharmacological activities of the butanolic extract prepared from [...] Read more.
Plant-derived compounds have recently been gaining popularity as skincare factors due to their ability to absorb ultraviolet radiations and their anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. In this light, this work aimed to evaluate in vitro the pharmacological activities of the butanolic extract prepared from the aerial parts of Astragalus gombiformis Pomel, an endemic species to southern Algeria. The sun protection factor was used to assess the photoprotective effect (SPF), the protein denaturation method to determine the anti-inflammatory activity, and brine shrimp nauplii and OxHLIA assay, respectively, to assess the cytotoxicity and antioxidant capacity of A. gombiformis. In addition, LC–ESI–MS analysis was employed for the characterization of the phenolic constituents of A. gombiformis. The results showed that A. gombiformis had high capacity for absorbing UV radiations with an SPF of 37.78 ± 0.85 and significant anti-inflammatory activity with a percentage inhibition of 75.38% which is close to that of diclofenac and ketoprofen. In addition, A. gombiformis was found to have effective cytotoxicity against Artemia nauplii with a DC50 value of about 44.7 µg/mL, but a weak hemolytic effect against human erythrocytes. LC–ESI–MS results detected the presence of 17 phenolic compounds with a predominance of cirsiliol, silymarin, quercitrin (quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside), and kaempferol. Taken together, these results suggest that A. gombiformis extract could be used as a skincare agent in cosmetic formulations, providing excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection, allowing the treatment of skin conditions, as well as a pharmaceutical agent with multidimensional applications. Full article
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Article
Perilla Seed Oil Enhances Cognitive Function and Mental Health in Healthy Elderly Japanese Individuals by Enhancing the Biological Antioxidant Potential
Foods 2021, 10(5), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10051130 - 19 May 2021
Viewed by 555
Abstract
Oxidative stress plays an important role in age-associated cognitive decline. We recently reported that dietary intake of perilla seed oil (PO), a rich source of α-linolenic acid (LNA, C18:3, ω-3), helps in maintaining good mental health in adults. This study aimed to investigate [...] Read more.
Oxidative stress plays an important role in age-associated cognitive decline. We recently reported that dietary intake of perilla seed oil (PO), a rich source of α-linolenic acid (LNA, C18:3, ω-3), helps in maintaining good mental health in adults. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of dietary PO intake on cognitive functions and mental health in healthy, elderly Japanese individuals. Seventy-five healthy volunteers aged 64–84 years were randomly divided into two groups: a control group and a PO-administered group. At baseline and at 12 months of intervention, cognitive function, mental health condition, fatty acid profile of the red blood cell plasma membranes (RBC-PM), and serum biochemical parameters were evaluated. Results showed that serum biological antioxidant potential and LNA levels in the RBC-PM at 12 months after the trial were significantly higher in the PO group compared to the control group. Further, both the cognitive function measures, as evaluated by the Frontal Assessment Battery test and the apathy scores, tended to be improved after 12 months in the PO group. Our results demonstrate that dietary PO intake enhances the antioxidant potential and prevents the age-related cognitive and mental decline in healthy elderly individuals by enhancing the blood LNA levels. Full article
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Article
Antioxidant Effect and Sensory Evaluation of Yogurt Supplemented with Hydroponic Ginseng Root Extract
Foods 2021, 10(3), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030639 - 17 Mar 2021
Viewed by 667
Abstract
Hydroponic ginseng (HG) is cultivated using only nutrients and water under constant environmental conditions and is more beneficial than soil-cultured ginseng (SG). This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of HG-supplemented yogurt to develop high-value yogurt. HG [...] Read more.
Hydroponic ginseng (HG) is cultivated using only nutrients and water under constant environmental conditions and is more beneficial than soil-cultured ginseng (SG). This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and sensory properties of HG-supplemented yogurt to develop high-value yogurt. HG (0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.0%) was added to yogurt formulations and fermented with a 0.1% starter. Antioxidant activities were determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, reducing power, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Semi-trained panelists performed a quantitative descriptive analysis for sensory evaluation. The number of starter cells increased more rapidly in ginseng extract-fortified yogurt than in the control group, shortening fermentation time. Regarding antioxidant assays, all HG extract-fortified yogurts showed higher antioxidant activity than the control group. In particular, the HG (0.5%) group showed better results than the SG group in the DPPH and reducing power assays, although the difference was not significant. The sensory scores of color, flavor, texture, taste, and overall acceptance of 0.5% HG-supplemented yogurt did not differ significantly from those of non-supplemented yogurt (control). This suggests that HG can be used in high-value dairy products as a supplement with bioactive properties for health in the food industry. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Antioxidant potential of marine sulfated polysaccharides derived from Persian Gulf seaweeds on rainbow trout fish oil stability under accelerated storage conditions
Authors: Farzaneh Vardizadeh1, Sedigheh Babaei1,*, Mahmood Naseri1, Mohammad-Taghi Golmakani2, Francisco J. Barba3,*
Affiliation: Shiraz University and Universitat de València

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