Bioactive Compounds in Foods and Their By-Products
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 47
Special Issue Editor
Interests: food chemistry; food toxology; analytical chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bioactive compounds found in food and their derivatives play a crucial role in enhancing human health while also contributing to the reduction in food waste. These compounds can come from a wide range of food sources and include vitamins, essential fatty acids, carotenoids, dietary fibers, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, glucosinolates, saponins, and phytosterols, among others. They exhibit beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. Recent research highlights the importance of utilizing food by-products as valuable sources of bioactive compounds, which can aid in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and their applications in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The increasing focus on sustainable food practices has led to significant advancements in agricultural methods that enhance the production of bioactive metabolites in plants, new extraction techniques that facilitate their purification on a larger scale, and technologies that have been created to incorporate them into food products. Researchers and food technologists are exploring innovative approaches to boost the bioavailability and stability of these compounds, such as nanoencapsulation and smart delivery systems, ensuring they retain their health benefits when added to various food items or improve their efficacy through processes like fermentation and biotransformation. This Special Issue includes research articles and review papers that concentrate on agronomic techniques capable of increasing the production of bioactive molecules in plants, the extraction and analysis of bioactive compounds from food and agro-food waste, innovative methods to improve their bioavailability and stability when incorporated into food, pharmaceutical, or cosmetic products, as well as potential toxicological issues linked to their repurposing.
In particular, the following subjects are of interest:
- Isolation of bioactives;
- Characterization of bioactives;
- Dosage of bioactives;
- Isolation of toxins;
- Characterization of toxins;
- Dosage of toxins;
- The validation procedures for food methods;
- Bioavailability of bioactive compounds;
- Bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds;
- Stability of bioactive compounds.
Prof. Dr. Irene Dini
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- circular economy
- food analytical method
- food analytical method validation
- bioactives bioavailability
- suitable agronomic technique
- food toxicology
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