Protein Molecules for Human Health: Nutritional and Functional Insights
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 45
Special Issue Editors
Interests: mushrooms; plants; novel foods; nutritional and bioactive properties
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Proteins play a central role in human nutrition, exhibiting diverse structural, nutritional, functional, and bioactive properties, strongly influenced by their origin, processing conditions, and interactions within food matrices. In recent years, increasing attention has been given to improving the quality, bioavailability, and functionality of proteins, as well as to exploring emerging and sustainable protein sources.
This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality original research and review articles addressing the molecular, nutritional, and functional aspects of dietary proteins and their sources. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, protein quality assessment, amino acid composition, processing-induced modifications, functional and bioactive properties, and emerging protein sources. Special emphasis is given to structure–function relationships, protein digestibility and bioaccessibility, and the impact of processing and formulation on nutritional quality and health promotion, including matrix- and processing-level mechanisms underlying nutritional enhancement strategies and their effects on functional and technological properties of protein-rich foods. Contributions that explore innovative strategies to improve protein sources, such as biofortification, enrichment, processing optimization, and the use of alternative and sustainable sources (including proteins and metabolites derived from fungi and plants), are particularly welcome.
Dr. Carla Susana Correia Pereira
Guest Editor
Dr. Maria Gabriela Leichtweis
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
- proteins
- protein quality
- nutritional quality
- functional properties
- sustainable sources
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