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Bioavailability of Bioactive Food Compounds

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2027 | Viewed by 3821

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Interests: food science; food chemistry; food analysis; sensory analysis; functional foods; phenolic compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 31 Wojska Polskiego St., 60-624 Poznań, Poland
Interests: cereal science; advanced glycation end products (AGEs); Maillard reaction; functional food; bioactive food; bioactive compounds from plants and agro-industrial waste
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the Guest Editors of the Special Issue below, we would like to invite you to contribute a paper that focuses on the “Bioavailability of Bioactive Food Compounds”. The bioactive components present in edible plants, e.g., biologically active proteins, polyphenols, phytosterols, biogenic amines, and carotenoids, demonstrate health benefits through their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory effects to enhance immunity. The dietary phytochemicals need to become bioavailable to positively influence the immune system and overall health. The bioavailability of these compounds is critical to understanding their potential health benefits. Many factors affect their solubility and bioavailability, such as compound structure, molecular weight, plant matrix, enzymes, polarity, pH variations, and gut microbiota metabolism. Moreover, thermal processing can significantly impact the bioavailability and absorption of essential nutrients in the human body. Several studies have supported the concept that mechanical homogenization and heat treatments have a positive effect by making compounds more accessible. However, thermal processing can also lead to differential isomerization, oxidative polymerization, and degradation, which affect phytochemical content and the corresponding changes in biological activity. In recent years, non-thermal processing technologies, including high-pressure processing, cold plasma, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound processing, and supercritical carbon dioxide, have been widely studied as alternatives to thermal processing technologies for not only extending the shelf-life but also protecting the nutritional and functional properties of food products. Recently, it has been shown that pulsed electric field processing is an effective method for improving the bioaccessibility or bioavailability of phenolic compounds.

This Special Issue will cover a wide range of topics related to the bioavailability of phytochemicals, including (i) the major factors affecting the bioavailability of the bioactive food compounds, (ii) the effects of different physical, chemical, and biocatalytic food processes aimed towards increasing their bioavailability and functional properties, (iii) the effect of food processing on their bioavailability and potential relevance to human health, and (iv) the significance of non-thermal treatment in improving food nutrition. Research articles, reviews, and mini-reviews on the various aspects of plant- and animal-based products are invited for submission.

Prof. Dr. Sylwia Mildner-Szkudlarz
Dr. Maria Barbara Różańska
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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

  • bioactivity
  • bioavailability
  • in vitro
  • metabolism
  • gastrointestinal models
  • dietary phytochemicals
  • food processing technology
  • non-thermal treatment

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

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25 pages, 1052 KB  
Review
Bioactive Compounds in Coffee: Metabolism, Bioavailability and Health Effects—A Review
by Hajnal Finta, Sándor Pál, Margit Solymár, Zsuzsanna Faust, Marius-Călin Cherecheș, Florina Ruța, Daniela-Edith Ceană, Corneliu-Florin Buicu and Enikő Nemes-Nagy
Molecules 2026, 31(9), 1404; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31091404 - 23 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2392
Abstract
Coffee is a very popular psychoactive beverage with a complex composition. Besides its stimulant effect due to caffeine, it contains several bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties and potent metabolic activity. Its clinical efficacy is fundamentally determined by the bioavailability and metabolic fate of [...] Read more.
Coffee is a very popular psychoactive beverage with a complex composition. Besides its stimulant effect due to caffeine, it contains several bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties and potent metabolic activity. Its clinical efficacy is fundamentally determined by the bioavailability and metabolic fate of its constituents. The bioactive components of coffee, such as polyphenols, melanoidins, phytosterols, biogenic amines, and carotenoids, have notable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. This review aims to present the main bioactive components of coffee, their biological effects, mechanisms of action, and the influence of preparation methods and individual variability on metabolic outcomes in common chronic diseases. The data are synthesized from clinical, prospective, and interventional studies to examine how processing variables and biological metabolism influence the health-promoting potential of coffee antioxidants. Brewing methods like hot filtration optimize the extraction of these antioxidants. Individual clinical outcomes are further modulated by genetic polymorphisms and gut microbiota variability, which influence the activation of the cellular Nrf2 antioxidant defense pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioavailability of Bioactive Food Compounds)
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Other

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19 pages, 720 KB  
Systematic Review
Food-Derived Antihypertensive Peptides: Mechanisms, Multi-Methodological Approaches, Bioavailability, and Functional Food Applications
by Lucía Castillejos Ordóñez, Nathaly Marcela Guzmán Pineda, Beatriz Isabella Encalada Lizcano, Astrid Carolina Lugo Díaz, Luis Jorge Corzo Ríos, Cristian Jimenez Martínez and Jorge Carlos Ruiz Ruiz
Molecules 2026, 31(10), 1648; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31101648 - 13 May 2026
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Abstract
This systematic review was conducted and reported according to the PRISMA 2020 statement to synthesize evidence published between January 2020 and January 2025 on food-derived antihypertensive peptides, with emphasis on mechanisms of action, molecular stability, bioavailability, and functional food applications. PubMed, Scopus, and [...] Read more.
This systematic review was conducted and reported according to the PRISMA 2020 statement to synthesize evidence published between January 2020 and January 2025 on food-derived antihypertensive peptides, with emphasis on mechanisms of action, molecular stability, bioavailability, and functional food applications. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched using combined terms related to bioactive or ACE-inhibitory peptides, stability or bioavailability, and alternative protein sources. Original peer-reviewed studies in English evaluating antihypertensive or ACE-inhibitory peptides from plant, marine, insect, fungal, dairy, or terrestrial animal matrices were considered eligible when they reported experimental evidence on activity, stability, transport, or in vivo efficacy. Three reviewers independently screened records and extracted data. A total of 177 studies were included. Plant and marine matrices accounted for approximately 72% of the evidence base, with a strong focus on low-molecular-weight peptides (<3 kDa) and multistage validation pipelines integrating in silico screening, in vitro enzymatic assays, Caco-2 transport models, ex vivo assays, and spontaneously hypertensive rat studies. Overall, the evidence supports the antihypertensive potential of selected food-derived peptides, particularly through ACE inhibition and related vascular mechanisms. Encapsulation and advanced delivery approaches improved peptide stability and bioavailability in several studies. Food-derived antihypertensive peptides represent promising candidates for functional foods and nutraceuticals; however, greater methodological standardization, formal risk-of-bias assessment in primary studies, and well-designed human trials remain necessary to strengthen translation into practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioavailability of Bioactive Food Compounds)
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