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Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry
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Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 5445

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jun Jin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China
Interests: lipid nutrition; food emulsion; chocolate; specialty fats; diacylglycerol; medium and long chain triacylglycerol
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Siyu Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Interests: structured lipid; antioxidant; chemical analysis; biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional lipids not only provide energy but also have nutritional value and play an important role in staying healthy and managing chronic diseases. Functional fats are generally divided into three categories: glycerides (e.g., medium-carbon-chain triglycerides, and diglycerols), fatty acids and their esters (e.g., docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and conjugated linoleic acid), and lipoids (e.g., sterol esters). They are widely used in the manufacture of healthy foods for infants, children, adolescents, and older people, as well as foods for special medical purposes. Enzymatic synthesis, efficient purification, and precise qualitative and quantitative analyses are necessary in the production of functional lipophilic molecules, and their effects in improving food quality can also be improved.

Dr. Jun Jin
Guest Editor

Dr. Siyu Zhang
Guest Editor Assistant

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

  • structured lipid
  • synthesis
  • crystallization
  • fatty acid
  • glyceride
 

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 1511 KB  
Article
Biochemical Characterization of Lipids, Proteins, and Polysaccharides from the Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Cultivated in Pilot-Scale Photobioreactors
by Arjun H. Banskota, Joseph P. M. Hui, Kaitlyn Blatt-Janmaat, Roumiana Stefanova, Alysson Jones, Sean M. Tibbetts and Patrick J. McGinn
Molecules 2026, 31(6), 1017; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31061017 - 18 Mar 2026
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Phaeodactylum tricornutum was cultivated in a 1000 L photobioreactors using f/2 medium. The resulting algal biomass contained 24.5% lipids, 37.8% protein, 19.4% carbohydrates, and had a gross energy content of 19.8 MJ/kg. These components were sequentially extracted. The ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution [...] Read more.
Phaeodactylum tricornutum was cultivated in a 1000 L photobioreactors using f/2 medium. The resulting algal biomass contained 24.5% lipids, 37.8% protein, 19.4% carbohydrates, and had a gross energy content of 19.8 MJ/kg. These components were sequentially extracted. The ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) analysis of lipids revealed 35 triacylglycerols, a wide range of galactolipids and phospholipids including a novel sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol (SQDG), namely SQDG(C16:1/C24:0), characterized by mass fragmentation analysis. Additionally, three sulfoquinovosyl monoacylglycerols (SQMGs) with C14:0, C16:0, and C16:1 fatty acyl chain were detected in P. tricornutum for the first time. Fatty acid analysis further confirmed that P. tricornutum is an excellent source of ecosapentaenoic acid, which is predominantly present in triacylglycerol and glycolipid forms. CombiFlash chromatography allowed for the separation of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols, digalactosyldicylglycerols, SQDGs and phosphatidycholines, and their structure were confirmed by NMR spectral analysis. Fucoxanthin was the major carotenoid, and the study showed all essential amino acids required for humans and fish were present in it. A two-phase in vitro gastric/pancreatic digestibility assay showed high protein digestibility for both whole biomass (89%) and protein isolate (77%). Monosaccharide analysis showed that polysaccharides extracted by EtOH precipitation after alkaline extraction and by hot water extraction contained similar monomers with different relative intensities. Protein isolates and polysaccharides exhibited antioxidant properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry)
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17 pages, 2129 KB  
Article
Comparative Lipidomic Profiling of Camel and Cow Milk from a Shared Semi-Desert Pasture: Implications for Camel Adaptation to Arid Environments
by Lin Zhu, Xiushan Tan, Zhiwei Li, Qiuyue Gong, Gengyan Duan, Changjiang Zang, Yong Chen and Fengming Li
Molecules 2026, 31(6), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31060952 - 12 Mar 2026
Viewed by 327
Abstract
This study reveals lipidomic adaptations in camel milk that are crucial for neonatal development in desert environments. Using UHPLC-MS/MS and targeted oxylipidomics, we compared milk from free-grazing camels and cows from the same region. We identified 2460 lipids across 44 subclasses and 11 [...] Read more.
This study reveals lipidomic adaptations in camel milk that are crucial for neonatal development in desert environments. Using UHPLC-MS/MS and targeted oxylipidomics, we compared milk from free-grazing camels and cows from the same region. We identified 2460 lipids across 44 subclasses and 11 oxygenated lipids in three groups. Glycerophospholipids (GP) were dominant in both. We found 498 differentially expressed lipids, including potential biomarkers such as phosphatidylinositol (PI 18:0/22:3), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE 18:0/22:3), and two triacylglycerol (TG) species. Camel milk was dominated by phosphatidylcholine (PC, approximately 49%) and PI (approximately 22%), whereas cow milk was predominantly composed of TG (nearly 98%). Pathway analysis showed 11 key altered lipid pathways, mainly glycerophospholipid metabolism. These results define camel milk’s unique lipid profile—linked to desert adaptation—and provide molecular insights into its role in supporting neonatal camels in arid environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry)
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15 pages, 1480 KB  
Article
A Short-Chain Fatty Acid, Butyrate, Suppresses the Hyperexcitability of Rat Nociceptive Primary Neurons Involved in Inflammatory Hyperalgesia
by Yukito Sashide, Syogo Utugi and Mamoru Takeda
Molecules 2025, 30(11), 2407; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30112407 - 30 May 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1515
Abstract
While gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are recognized to modulate pathological pain by decreasing inflammation, the neurophysiological basis for SCFAs, butyrate’s ability to reduce hyperexcitability in nociceptive primary neurons during inflammatory conditions is still unknown. The objective of this study was to [...] Read more.
While gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are recognized to modulate pathological pain by decreasing inflammation, the neurophysiological basis for SCFAs, butyrate’s ability to reduce hyperexcitability in nociceptive primary neurons during inflammatory conditions is still unknown. The objective of this study was to determine, using in vivo conditions, whether systemic butyrate administration attenuates inflammation-induced hyperexcitability of trigeminal ganglion (TG) primary neurons and the concomitant mechanical inflammatory hyperalgesia. Rats received complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) injections in their whisker pads to induce inflammation. CFA-inflamed rats showed a significantly lower mechanical stimulation-induced escape threshold compared to naïve rats. Systemic butyrate administration restored the mechanical threshold to levels comparable to naïve rats within four days. Four days of butyrate administration significantly decreased the mean increased discharge frequency of TG neurons to both non-noxious and noxious mechanical stimuli in inflamed rats. The increased mean spontaneous discharge of TG neurons in inflamed rats significantly decreased four days after butyrate administration. Collectively, our findings indicate that butyrate reduces inflammatory hyperexcitability in nociceptive primary TG neurons, thereby alleviating inflammatory hyperalgesia. These results suggest that butyrate may serve as a promising therapeutic approach for the prevention of trigeminal inflammatory mechanical hyperalgesia and its clinical manifestations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry)
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13 pages, 8594 KB  
Article
Enzymatic Esterification of Functional Lipids for Specialty Fats: 1,3-Dipalmitoylglycerol and 1,3-Distearoylglycerol
by Yuhuang Yang, Juanjuan Chi, Shengyuan Wang, Abdelaziz Elbarbary, Yafei Zhang and Jun Jin
Molecules 2025, 30(6), 1328; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30061328 - 16 Mar 2025
Viewed by 2046
Abstract
High-melting point 1,3-diacylglycerols not only provide health benefits, but are also suitable for manufacture of foods containing various specialty fats. It is difficult to prepare such high-melting point diacylglycerols, as the activities of specific enzymes will severely reduce at their melting points. In [...] Read more.
High-melting point 1,3-diacylglycerols not only provide health benefits, but are also suitable for manufacture of foods containing various specialty fats. It is difficult to prepare such high-melting point diacylglycerols, as the activities of specific enzymes will severely reduce at their melting points. In the present study, a combined technique was developed to prepare 1,3-dipalmitoylglycerol (1,3-DPG) and 1,3-distearoylglycerol (1,3-DSG) using selective esterification, molecular distillation, and solvent fractionation. Lipozyme TL IM was suitable for use as the optimal enzyme to maintain relatively high activity levels at esterification temperatures of 73–75 °C. 1,3-DAG/(DAG + TAG) was selected as the most important index to monitor the esterification and to evaluate the synthesized fats. The obtained 1,3-DPG and 1,3-DSG showed high purities, at more than 83%, and possessed hard attributes at room temperature. Both 1,3-DPG and 1,3-DSG exhibited fat crystals with β′ and β crystals. Needle-like and rod-like crystals were observed at 5–25 °C for 1,3-DPG, and closely packed feather-like crystals were found at 5–20 °C for 1,3-DSG, indicating their multiple abilities in modifying the crystallization stabilization of the fat matrix during food processing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry)
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Review

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15 pages, 3218 KB  
Review
The Effect of Alkyl Chain Length on Biofunction of Dietary Lipid
by Wen-Hui Sun, Sha Liu, Wen Dai, Chin-Ping Tan and Yong-Jiang Xu
Molecules 2026, 31(5), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31050841 - 3 Mar 2026
Viewed by 441
Abstract
Dietary lipids not only enhance the flavor and nutritional value of food, but more importantly, they offer essential fatty acids and energy for metabolism. The importance of lipid unsaturation has gained increasing attention; however, the impact of the alky chain length on biofunction [...] Read more.
Dietary lipids not only enhance the flavor and nutritional value of food, but more importantly, they offer essential fatty acids and energy for metabolism. The importance of lipid unsaturation has gained increasing attention; however, the impact of the alky chain length on biofunction of dietary lipids remains unclear. This article discusses the effects of the alkyl chain length on the biological function of lipids, focusing on physical and chemical properties, digestion and absorption, and nutritional functions. Firstly, with the increase in the chain length, the melting point of the crystal increases, the symmetry increases, and the hypersensitivity induction decreases. Secondly, the alkyl chain length affects the contact between lipid droplets and lipase, as well as the fatty acids release rate. Finally, medium-chain and short-chain lipids can partially reverse the effect of long-chain lipids. Understanding the effect of the alkyl chain length on the biofunction of dietary lipids can provide valuable insights for designing nutritious diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Insights into Functional Lipids in Food Chemistry)
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