Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation for a Sustainable Future in Food Systems

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Physiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 483

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food; bioactive compounds; byproduct valorization; waste biorefinery; sustainable food processing; sensory analysis

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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food development; plant-based ingredients; by-product valorization; bread making technology; bioactive compounds in bakery products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food development; plant-based ingredients characterization; food industry byproduct valorization; bioactive compounds in sugar industry raw materials and byproducts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Fruit Research Institute, Kralja Petra I 9, 32000 Čačak, Serbia
Interests: fruit growing technology; effect of application of various agrotechnical measures (fertilization, pruning, irrigation, soil maintenance, rootstock, etc.) on productivity and fruit quality; influence of biostimulators on primary and secondary metabolites in fruits; antioxidative activity of fruit

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Health-conscious consumers are increasingly prioritizing minimally processed natural foods, with fresh commodities such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices recognized as important sources of nutraceuticals with health-promoting properties. Consumers are also choosing functional foods, which often incorporate bioactive compounds from these natural sources. In this sense, horticultural plants rich in secondary bioactive metabolites provide an abundance of natural compounds beneficial for the human diet. The journey from "field to fork" is influenced by various preharvest, postharvest and processing technologies, making phytochemical modulation vital to preserving the quality, quantity and functionality of bioactives in the final product.

This Special Issue welcomes studies focused on the characterization and profiling of bioactive compounds from a variety of horticultural plants, with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. It seeks to highlight the latest research advancements in preharvest and postharvest treatments of horticultural crops, particularly their impact on bioactives, and explore methods for optimizing bioactive enhancement. In addition, this Special Issue aims to identify significant nutraceuticals from horticultural plants and waste, which may be applied in various forms (e.g., extracts, ingredients) in functional foods and packaging materials, thereby contributing to the valorization and sustainable cultivation of horticultural plants and addressing waste reduction. 

Dr. Charalampos Proestos
Dr. Aleksandra Bajić
Dr. Marijana Djordjević
Dr. Miljana Djordjević
Dr. Jelena Tomić
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • secondary plant metabolites
  • bioactive compounds profiling
  • functional phytochemicals
  • phytochemical modulation
  • preharvest factors
  • posharvest factors
  • fruits and vegetables
  • herbs and spices
  • horticultural waste valorization
  • natural extracts
  • functional food
  • bioactive packaging

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1797 KiB  
Article
From Agricultural Waste to Functional Tea: Optimized Processing Enhances Bioactive Flavonoid Recovery and Antioxidant Capacity with Multifaceted Health Benefits in Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) Flowers
by Mingzheng Duan, Xi Wang, Jinghan Feng, Xu Xiao, Lingying Zhang, Sijiu He, Liya Ma, Xue Wang, Shunqiang Yang and Muhammad Junaid Rao
Horticulturae 2025, 11(7), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11070766 - 2 Jul 2025
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Abstract
The large-scale disposal of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) flowers during fruit thinning represents a significant waste of bioactive resources. This study systematically evaluated how three processing methods—fresh (FS), heat-dried (HD), and freeze-dried (FD) treatments—affect the flavonoid composition and antioxidant capacity of loquat [...] Read more.
The large-scale disposal of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) flowers during fruit thinning represents a significant waste of bioactive resources. This study systematically evaluated how three processing methods—fresh (FS), heat-dried (HD), and freeze-dried (FD) treatments—affect the flavonoid composition and antioxidant capacity of loquat flower extracts, with the aim of developing value-added, sugar-free functional tea ingredients. Using UPLC-MS/MS and DPPH assays, we analyzed both pre-(FS/HD/FD) and post-extraction samples (FSP/HDP/FDP) to assess processing-specific metabolic signatures and extraction efficiency. The results revealed that heat-dried powder (HDP) exhibited the highest total flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging capacity (615.24 µg Trolox/g), attributed to enhanced release of stable compounds like quercetin. Freeze-dried powder (FDP) better preserved heat-sensitive flavonoids, such as catechin-(4α→8)-gallocatechin and naringenin, but showed lower overall antioxidant activity. Multivariate analysis confirmed distinct clustering patterns, with heat-drying favoring flavonoid extractability while freeze-drying maintained metabolic diversity. These findings demonstrate that processing methods significantly influence bioactive compound retention and functionality, with heat-drying offering optimal balance between yield and practicality for industrial applications. This work provides a scientific foundation for upcycling loquat flowers into standardized nutraceutical ingredients, addressing both agricultural waste reduction and the growing demand for natural functional foods. Full article
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