Molecular Insights into Agrifood Waste Valorization: From By-Products to Sustainable Resources
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1552
Special Issue Editors
Interests: anticancer agents; targeted delivery; analytics; medicinal chemistry; ADME/DMPK
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: antiviral compounds; novel foods; edible insects; nutraceuticals and functionalized foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Every year, billions of tons of food waste are generated globally. In recent years, processed and ultra-processed foods have been greatly consumed. Every production stage has the potential to produce food waste, which damages the environment and causes important economic costs. Some of the by-products produced still have nutraceutical or nutritious value that can be upcycled into novel products. Understanding by-products’ composition and the molecular mechanisms at the basis of their activity is fundamental for the circular economy, with benefits for the environment and global health. Organic waste can be used to recover antioxidant compounds like polyphenols, anthocyanidins, and flavonoids, which can reduce free radical formation and prevent mitochondrial dysfunction, cancer, and neuroinflammation.
This Special Issue of IJMS will focus on advances in valorizing waste derived from the agrifood industry, with particular emphasis on elucidating the mechanisms of action of by-products with biological activity. Agrifood by-products can be a source of antioxidants and secondary metabolites with beneficial effects on human health, including antimicrobial compounds or inhibitors of specific enzymes associated with pathologies like diabetes, cancer, and hypertension. Papers focusing on the purification and elucidation of the mechanisms of action of compounds with cosmetic and nutraceutical applications are welcomed.
Dr. Elena Dreassi
Dr. Annalaura Brai
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- antioxidants
- by-products
- antimicrobials
- nutraceuticals
- food industry
- circular economy
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