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Dietary Bioactive Compounds: Analytical Challenges and Health Perspectives

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 587

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina, 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: bioactive compounds; phenolic compounds; antioxidants; cereals; pseudocereals; functional foods; novel foods; HPLC; analytical methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dietary bioactive compounds—such as polyphenols, carotenoids, alkaloids, peptides, and phytosterols—play a crucial role in modulating human health. Their potential benefits encompass antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and anticancer activities. Understanding their impact on human health requires accurate identification, quantification, and characterization through robust analytical methods.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the analytical determination of dietary bioactive compounds and/or metabolites in various food matrices, including raw and processed products.

We welcome authors to submit contributions focusing on the development, validation, and application of advanced analytical techniques, as well as studies exploring bioaccessibility and bioavailability.

These should take the form of original research articles, reviews, and methodological papers.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following areas:

  • Innovative analytical methods for detecting bioactive compounds in foods;
  • Bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and metabolism of dietary bioactive compounds;
  • Food matrix effects and processing impacts on bioactive stability;
  • Analytical approaches for dietary bioactive compound determination;
  • Quality control and standardization of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Dr. Valentina Melini
Guest Editor

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

  • dietary bioactive compounds
  • analytical methods
  • bioaccessibility
  • bioavailability
  • functional foods

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1319 KB  
Article
Multivariate Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Apples
by Francesca Melini, Sara Fasano and Valentina Melini
Molecules 2026, 31(8), 1314; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31081314 - 17 Apr 2026
Viewed by 313
Abstract
Apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) are among the most widely consumed fruits worldwide and represent a significant dietary source of phenolic compounds. Efficient extraction is a critical step for the isolation, characterization, and quantification of phenolic compounds. The extraction yield and composition are [...] Read more.
Apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) are among the most widely consumed fruits worldwide and represent a significant dietary source of phenolic compounds. Efficient extraction is a critical step for the isolation, characterization, and quantification of phenolic compounds. The extraction yield and composition are strongly influenced by multiple parameters, including solvent type and concentration, temperature, extraction time, solid-to-liquid ratio, and the presence and concentration of acidifying agents. This study aimed to optimize an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) procedure using response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate the effects of extraction temperature, solvent-to-sample ratio (SSR) and citric acid concentration on total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Statistical analysis showed that SSR and temperature were the most influential factors affecting phenolic recovery, while citric acid concentration exerted a secondary, interaction-driven effect. Optimization using a desirability function identified the operating conditions that maximized phenolic and flavonoid recovery: 55 °C, 10 mL/g SSR and 0.2% citric acid concentration. Model predictions were validated experimentally, confirming the reliability of the approach for TPC and TFC. Chlorogenic acid and flavan-3-ols, including monomers, such as catechin and epicatechin, and polymers such as procyanidins, were identified. Overall, the proposed approach provides a statistically supported framework for phenolic compound analysis in apples. Full article
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