Extraction of Food and Natural Products: Techniques and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Extraction of food and natural products dates back to ancient civilizations. Since then, and still today, it has been considered an important source of ingredients for nutritional, medicinal and aesthetic applications.

Different approaches can be used for the extraction of food and natural products. Conventional extraction techniques, such as maceration, decoction, leaching, percolation, digestion, distillation, etc., are commonly used. However, in recent years, the use of more efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically advanced extraction techniques has been increasing due to better yields and qualities of the extracts, and according to the principles of green revolution: ultrasound, microwave, sub or super-critical fluid, pulsed electric fields, and extrusion, represent only some examples for the extraction of foods and natural compounds with the aim of reducing extraction time, energy and solvent consumption.

All these techniques allow the extraction, and in some cases also the production (such as essential oils), of a large number of compounds, including enzymes, peptides, proteins, (poly)phenols, polysaccharides, flavones, terpenes, and so on. All these compounds show different activities: from the use as food ingredients, to the use of nutraceuticals, or for pharmacological applications.

This Special Issue aims at collecting and disseminating some of the most significant and recent contributions to research into extraction techniques of food and natural products and their practical applications for nutritional and pharmaceutical purposes.

Dr. Mena Ritota
Guest Editor

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