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Nutritional Enhancement and Functional Innovation of Plant-Based Foods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 999

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Biochemistry and Analysis, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Interests: plant biofortification; novel food; food biochemistry; iron; food digestibility; sprouts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology of Plant Origin, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Interests: triticale; extrusion; bioactive compounds; starch; cereal product technology; ways of using linseed pomace
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Collegium Medicum, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Kraków, Poland
Interests: bioactive compounds; medicinal plants; antioxidants; edible insects; functional food; plant-based food additives; waste management in food system; plant-based meat analogues
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant-based foods are increasingly recognized as key components of sustainable diets and play an increasingly important role in promoting human health due to their diverse bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other functional characteristics. To properly balance the diet, nutritional enhancement and functional innovation are often required to match or surpass the nutritional value of their animal-based counterparts. We aim to present the latest research on technological advances and evidence-based strategies to improve the nutritional and functional properties of plant-based foods, with a focus on their chemistry, functionality, and health impacts.

The present Special Issue aims to present original articles, short communications, and review articles on the following topics:

  • Analysis of methods for improving the nutritional value of animal-based food substitutes;
  • Review of technological innovations used in the production of plant-based foodstuffs;
  • Assessment of the impact of these innovations on health and sensory properties;
  • Recent advances in the fortification of plant-based food and their influence on human health;
  • Fermentation and protein restructuring techniques in plant-based products;
  • Bioavailability and bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds in plant products;
  • New raw materials used in the production of animal food substitutes.

Dr. Magdalena Zielińska-Dawidziak
Dr. Agnieszka Makowska
Dr. Przemysław Kowalczewski
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-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

  • plant-based foods
  • plant product bioavailability
  • vegan diet
  • nutritional enhancement
  • functional innovation
  • protein fortification
  • sustainable nutrition

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 228 KB  
Article
Processing-Dependent Releasing of Iron from Plant Ferritin in Cereal-Based Foods Designed for Iron Delivery in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
by Magdalena Zielińska-Dawidziak, Agnieszka Makowska, Magdalena Czlapka-Matyasik, Aleksandra Proch and Przemysław Niedzielski
Molecules 2026, 31(3), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31030510 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 678
Abstract
Fortified soybean sprouts have been proposed as a source of ferritin-iron in food for the treatment of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease. Eight products with the addition of the sprouts have been designed, and iron speciation was studied in them by flame atomic [...] Read more.
Fortified soybean sprouts have been proposed as a source of ferritin-iron in food for the treatment of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease. Eight products with the addition of the sprouts have been designed, and iron speciation was studied in them by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (total iron content) and spectrophotometry (ionic forms). Non-ionic iron content, considered ferritin-iron content, was calculated as the difference between total and inorganic iron content. The production of crispbread disrupted ferritin and caused the release of ferritin-iron. A loss of ~3% of ferritin-iron was noted in rice wafers containing a coarse fraction of sprouts, and 0–10% in instant products (‘kisiel’, ‘budyn’, and groats). Lost ferritin-iron was converted mostly into ferrous iron, except for crispbread, in which Fe(III) constituted ~30%. The designed products are valuable sources of iron, with a high content of plant ferritin. Full article
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