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Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III
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Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 7936

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Ciudad-Mulero

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Guest Editor
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: food science and technology; plant food bioactive compounds; functional foods and ingredients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Patricia Morales

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: food science and technology; natural food matrix; food additives; functional foods and ingredients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Virginia Fernández-Ruiz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Nutrition and Food Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: plant food bioactive compounds; chemical and sensory food analysis; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional foods and nutraceuticals have similar characteristics in terms of their nutritional value compared to conventional foods. Indeed, these food products provide disease-preventing and health-promoting effects when consumed as part of a balanced diet. In this context, functional foods, which contain components, nutrients, or bioactive compounds that exert selective beneficial effects on one or more functions of the organism, are widely distributed in the food market.

It is estimated that more than 3 million cases of chronic diseases and cancer over a year could be avoided with a healthy and balanced diet that includes functional foods. Health claims are important value-added features for consumers and therefore for the food industry since they can give a competitive advantage to a functional food products or food ingredients. The EFSA authority only accepts health claims in functional foods and nutraceuticals based on strong scientific evidence. Therefore, further research is required to elucidate the association between functional foods and nutraceuticals containing phytochemicals and human health.

In this Special Issue of Molecules, we would like to collate papers dealing with the topic of plant food ingredients as functional foods and nutraceuticals and their relation to human health. In broad terms, the study of phytochemicals present in functional foods and nutraceuticals derived from vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, among others, and the study of their potential bioactivity (in vitro and in vivo), potential health effects, disease risk reduction effects, and effects on disease biomarkers will be considered.

We welcome different types of manuscripts, including original research articles and up-to-date reviews (systematic reviews and meta-analyses). Topics may include recent advances and knowledge regarding the associations of phytochemicals present in functional foods and nutraceuticals, their intake, and nutritional biomarkers, considering disease risk reduction, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Dr. Maria Ciudad-Mulero
Dr. Patricia Morales
Prof. Dr. Virginia Fernández-Ruiz
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 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. Molecules 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 2700 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

  • nutraceuticals
  • functional foods
  • plant ingredients
  • phytochemicals
  • health claims, in vitro and in vivo studies

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1277 KiB  
Article
Fatty Acid Enrichment of Corn Extrudates with Hemp Seeds
by Marta Igual, David Gimeno, Purificación García-Segovia, Javier Martínez-Monzó and Juliana Navarro-Rocha
Molecules 2025, 30(6), 1390; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30061390 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 338
Abstract
Hemp seeds (HSs) are a rich source of essential fatty acids, proteins, and antioxidant compounds, making them an attractive ingredient for the food industry. This work studies the viability of enriching corn extrudates with hemp seeds, specifically to improve their fatty acid profile [...] Read more.
Hemp seeds (HSs) are a rich source of essential fatty acids, proteins, and antioxidant compounds, making them an attractive ingredient for the food industry. This work studies the viability of enriching corn extrudates with hemp seeds, specifically to improve their fatty acid profile and phenolic content, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of the snack. Extrudate formulations with different concentrations of HSs (up to 12.5%) were evaluated, and the physicochemical, textural, and antioxidant properties of the resulting products were analyzed. The results showed that increasing the HS concentration improved the lipid profile of the products, raising the content of unsaturated fatty acids to 75.6% in the snack fortified with 12.5% of HSs and lowering the proportion of saturated fatty acids. This may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases compared with corn extrudates. The total phenolic content of the snacks and their antioxidant capacity also increased linearly with the increase of HSs in the formulation. A reduction in specific mechanical energy during extrusion was also observed, attributed to the higher fat content, which facilitates the lubrication of the process. At the physicochemical level, the HS-enriched snacks showed improvements in texture. These snacks were softer, reducing the hardness of the corn snack while maintaining crunchiness. They were even more stable due to a lower water content. The fortification of snacks with hemp seeds provides consumers with a healthier option, while maintaining the appealing crunchy texture and visual appearance regardless of some changes in their color attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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17 pages, 494 KiB  
Article
New Gluten-Free Extruded Snack-Type Products Based on Rice and Chickpea and Fortified with Passion Fruit Skin: Extrusion Cooking Effect on Phenolic Composition, Non-Nutritional Factors, and Antioxidant Properties
by María Ciudad-Mulero, Erika N. Vega, Patricia García-Herrera, Samuel Fernández-Tomé, Mercedes M. Pedrosa, Claudia Arribas, José De J. Berrios, James Pan, Priscila Leal, Montaña Cámara, Virginia Fernández-Ruiz and Patricia Morales
Molecules 2025, 30(6), 1225; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30061225 - 9 Mar 2025
Viewed by 587
Abstract
The incorporation of pulse flour into gluten-free extruded snacks based on cereals improves the functional properties as well as the nutritional value of these types of products. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes induced by the extrusion process on [...] Read more.
The incorporation of pulse flour into gluten-free extruded snacks based on cereals improves the functional properties as well as the nutritional value of these types of products. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes induced by the extrusion process on the functional properties in terms of the concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPC), phenolic families (hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavonols), and non-nutritional factors (inositol phosphates and trypsin inhibitors) of extruded snack-type products developed from novel formulations based on rice-chickpea flours and fortified with different percentages of Fibersol® and passion-fruit-skin flour. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the studied formulations was evaluated to explore their potential for developing sustainable snack-type products with added functional value. The results demonstrated that extrusion treatment caused a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decrease (12–30%) in TPC. Despite this reduction, the extruded formulations preserve an interesting content of these compounds, with hydroxybenzoic acids being the majority in the analyzed formulations. The extrusion process maintained or decreased the content of phytate and total inositol phosphates in samples fortified with passion fruit and Fibersol®. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) of trypsin inhibitor activity (between 86.7% and 95.8%) was observed when comparing extruded samples to their raw counterpart. The antioxidant activity in vitro of the formulations was assessed. The results obtained by the Folin–Ciocalteu method indicated that extrusion caused a decrease in the antioxidant activity of 50% of the analyzed samples, while in the others, no changes were observed. DPPH and FRAP assays tended to demonstrate an increase in antioxidant activity. In general, the highest values were obtained by applying the DPPH method. Additionally, the effects of the ingredients used for fortifying the formulations were investigated. The results highlighted the complexity of the analyzed formulations, revealing that their composition is influenced not only by the presence of Fibersol® and passion fruit but also by the interaction between these two ingredients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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12 pages, 1801 KiB  
Article
Structural Diversity and Anti-Diabetic Potential of Flavonoids and Phenolic Compounds in Eriobotrya japonica Leaves
by Min Hee Kim, Sang Won Yeon, Se Hwan Ryu, Hak Hyun Lee, Ayman Turk, So Yeong Jeong, Young Jun Kim, Ki Yong Lee, Bang Yeon Hwang and Mi Kyeong Lee
Molecules 2025, 30(3), 736; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30030736 - 6 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 847
Abstract
Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl., commonly known as loquat, is a plant belonging to the Rosaceae family. While its fruit is widely consumed as food and used in traditional medicine, research on other parts of the plant remains insufficient. Therefore, the chemical constituents and [...] Read more.
Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl., commonly known as loquat, is a plant belonging to the Rosaceae family. While its fruit is widely consumed as food and used in traditional medicine, research on other parts of the plant remains insufficient. Therefore, the chemical constituents and biological activities of its leaves were investigated. Phytochemical analysis of E. japonica leaves identified 30 compounds, including flavonoids, phenolics, and megastigmanes. The flavonoids isolated from the leaves include flavones, flavans, flavolignans, flavonoid glycosides, and coumaroyl flavonoid glycosides. Coumaroyl flavonoid rhamnosides were characteristically present in E. japonica leaves, and the configurations of coumaric acids, as well as the binding position to the rhamnose in each compound, were identified through detailed NMR analysis. Notably, three of them were isolated from this plant for the first time. Phenolic compounds were found to be present as conjugates with organic acids, such as quinic acid, shikimic acid, and glucose. Flavonoid and phenolic compounds demonstrated significant antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory effects, whereas megastigmanes showed little activity. Notably, coumaroyl flavonoid rhamnosides, which consist of flavonoids combined with the phenolic acid, coumaric acid, exhibited excellent anti-diabetic effects. Further molecular docking analysis confirmed that these compounds effectively bind to the α-glucosidase enzyme. In conclusion, the present study identified flavonoid and phenolic components with various structures in E. japonica leaves and clarified their anti-diabetic and antioxidant effects. These findings support the beneficial potential of E. japonica leaves for the treatment and/or prevention of metabolic diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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32 pages, 1801 KiB  
Article
Development of Novel Honey- and Oat-Based Cocoa Beverages—A Comprehensive Analysis of the Impact of Drying Temperature and Mixture Composition on Physical, Chemical and Sensory Properties
by Kristina Tušek and Maja Benković
Molecules 2024, 29(19), 4665; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29194665 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1041
Abstract
This research aimed to assess the influence of drying temperature (50, 60 and 70 °C), honey/oat flour ratio (60:40, 50:50 and 40:60) and cocoa contents (5, 6.25 and 7.5 g/100 g) on the physical (color, moisture content, bulk density, flowability (Hausner ratio, Carr [...] Read more.
This research aimed to assess the influence of drying temperature (50, 60 and 70 °C), honey/oat flour ratio (60:40, 50:50 and 40:60) and cocoa contents (5, 6.25 and 7.5 g/100 g) on the physical (color, moisture content, bulk density, flowability (Hausner ratio, Carr index), dispersibility, solubility, and particle size), chemical (total dissolved solids, conductivity, pH, amount of sugar, color, total polyphenolic content, and antioxidant activity), and sensory properties (powder appearance, color, odor; and beverage appearance, color, odor, sweetness, bitterness, taste, texture) of a newly developed cocoa powder mixture in which honey was used as a sweetener and oat flour as a filler. Also, a further aim of this study was to optimize the composition of the mixture based on chemical, physical and sensory properties. Based on the optimization results, the highest total polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity were achieved at 70 °C with a honey/oat ratio of 50% and a cocoa content of 7.5 g. Drying temperature has a significant effect on powder odor and beverage odor, as well as on beverage bitterness, while the honey/oat flour ratio has a significant effect on color, with primarily values L* and a*. The cocoa contents mostly affect total polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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11 pages, 2805 KiB  
Article
Effect of Adding Chestnut Inner Skin on Allergenic Protein, Antioxidant Properties, and Quality of Bread
by Yoko Tsurunaga and Eishin Morita
Molecules 2024, 29(4), 863; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29040863 - 15 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1310
Abstract
Wheat-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis has no fundamental cure and requires patients to refrain from wheat consumption or to rest after eating. Although hypoallergenic wheat production by enzymatic degradation or thioredoxin treatment has been investigated, challenges still exist in terms of labor and efficacy. We [...] Read more.
Wheat-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis has no fundamental cure and requires patients to refrain from wheat consumption or to rest after eating. Although hypoallergenic wheat production by enzymatic degradation or thioredoxin treatment has been investigated, challenges still exist in terms of labor and efficacy. We investigated a hypoallergenic wheat product manufacturing technology that takes advantage of the property of tannins to bind tightly to proteins. Commercially available bread wheat (BW) and hypoallergenic wheat (1BS-18 “Minaminokaori”, 1BS-18M) were used. Chestnut inner skin (CIS) was selected as a tannin material based on the screening of breads with added unused parts of persimmon and chestnut. Hypoallergenicity was evaluated using Western blotting. The effect of CIS addition on the antioxidative properties of bread was also measured. For both BW and 1BS-18M, CIS addition reduced the immunoreactivity of wheat allergens. Antioxidant activities increased with increasing CIS substitution. However, 10% CIS-substituted breads were substantially less puffy. Five percent CIS substitution was optimal for achieving low allergenicity, while maintaining bread quality. The strategy investigated herein can reduce allergies related to wheat bread consumption. In this study, the evaluation of hypoallergenicity was limited to instrumental analysis. In the future, we will evaluate hypoallergenicity through clinical trials in humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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Review

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19 pages, 1681 KiB  
Review
Citrus aurantium Flowers: Overview of Chemistry, Functionality, and Technological Applications
by Sepidar Seyyedi-Mansour, Pauline Donn, Paula Barciela, Ana Perez-Vazquez, Rafael Nogueira-Marques, Franklin Chamorro, Maria Carpena and Miguel A. Prieto
Molecules 2025, 30(4), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30040930 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 837
Abstract
Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.), a member of the Rutaceae family, finds global utility in both the treatment of various ailments and its role as a rootstock for Citrus species in agriculture. Various parts of Citrus aurantium L. have been employed in [...] Read more.
Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.), a member of the Rutaceae family, finds global utility in both the treatment of various ailments and its role as a rootstock for Citrus species in agriculture. Various parts of Citrus aurantium L. have been employed in traditional medicine due to their multifarious therapeutic potential. The blossom of this plant serves as a rich source of bioactive compounds, notably polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenes. Additionally, it harbors substantial quantities of functional, nutritive, and biologically active compounds, which manifest their presence through antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, cardiovascular, and neuroprotective properties. The recovery of bioactive compounds is significantly affected by extraction methods. Many conventional methods have been explored for the recovering of bioactive compounds from bitter orange flowers. However, in response to the limitations of conventional techniques, green extraction methods, characterized by their ability to significantly increase the yield and reduce the time, energy, and solvent requirements, have also been assessed for this matrix. Therefore, the study of the functionalities of bitter orange blossoms represents a domain with unexplored research opportunities. Consequently, this review aims to offer a comprehensive insight into the biological properties and medicinal applications of the active compounds found within C. aurantium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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25 pages, 1911 KiB  
Review
Quercetin: A Promising Candidate for the Management of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)
by Julia Markowska, Kamila Kasprzak-Drozd, Przemysław Niziński, Magdalena Dragan, Adrianna Kondracka, Ewa Gondek, Tomasz Oniszczuk and Anna Oniszczuk
Molecules 2024, 29(22), 5245; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29225245 - 6 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2424
Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents a chronic liver disease. The development of MASLD is influenced by a multitude of diseases associated with modern lifestyles, including but not limited to diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and obesity. These conditions are often consequences of [...] Read more.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) represents a chronic liver disease. The development of MASLD is influenced by a multitude of diseases associated with modern lifestyles, including but not limited to diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and obesity. These conditions are often consequences of the adoption of unhealthy habits, namely a sedentary lifestyle, a lack of physical activity, poor dietary choices and excessive alcohol consumption. The treatment of MASLD is primarily based on modifying the patient’s lifestyle and pharmacological intervention. Despite the absence of FDA-approved pharmacological agents for the treatment of MASLD, several potential therapeutic modalities have demonstrated efficacy in reversing the histopathological features of the disease. Among the botanical ingredients belonging to the flavonoid group is quercetin (QE). QE has been demonstrated to possess a number of beneficial physiological effects, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antifungal properties. Additionally, it functions as a natural antioxidant. Preclinical evidence indicates that QE may play a beneficial role in reducing liver damage and improving metabolic health. Early human studies also suggest that QE may be an effective treatment for MASLD due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-regulating properties. This review aims to summarize the available information on the therapeutic effects of QE in MASLD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Foods Ingredients as Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals III)
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