Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Molecules is entitled Advances in Research on Food Bioactive Molecules and Health. Many fresh and processed food products (vegetables, fruits, cereal, and dairy products) are rich in bioactive molecules, including vitamins, carotenoids, polysaccharides, proteins, peptides, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, sterols, and bioactive lipids. Some fermented food products are also considered novel items with health benefits. Many bioactive molecules in food have a synergistic impact with medicaments and prevent several diseases (i.e., metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.).

Consumer awareness is growing about the health-enhancing effects of food bioactive molecules from plant and animals sources. Health claims are important value-added features for consumers, wherein authorities accept health claims in functional foods based on scientific evidence. The health-promoting impacts of bioactive compounds depend on their chemical structure; therefore, novel analytical techniques have been developed to elucidate the structure of active molecules. Besides, novel techniques have been developed to increase the yield of bioactive molecules. On the other hand, the investigation of the structure–function relationship of food bioactive molecules is of importance. Several factors might affect the structure–function relationship of food bioactives, including agricultural practices, cultivars, post-harvest treatments, processing, and storage conditions.

In this regard, Molecules is delighted to highlight the importance of food bioactive molecules and their effect on health. Researchers from different fields, including food chemistry, biochemistry, natural products, phytotherapy, pharmacology, medicine, and biotechnology, are expected to disseminate their results in this issue. In this Special Issue of Molecules, researchers are invited to contribute original, unpublished research and up-to-date review articles that analyze and describe bioactive molecules in fresh and processed food products; their stability during food processing and storage; and the mechanisms of their digestion, bioactivity (in vitro and in vivo), and metabolite formation. In addition, the impact of food bioactive molecules in preventing and treating diseases is of interest.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Novel analytical techniques in the structure elucidation of food bioactive molecules;
• Chemistry and functionality of food bioactive molecules;
• Factors affecting the structure–function relationship of food bioactive molecules;
• The effect of industrial and biotechnological processing on food bioactive molecules;
• Modification of food bioactive molecules to enhance their health-promoting effects.

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan
Dr. Alessandra Durazzo
Dr. Massimo Lucarini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.