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Novel Food Processing Technologies and Their Effects on Bioactive Components in 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 2399

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
Interests: microorganisms; enzymes; biotransformation; ginsenosides; soy isoflavones
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Crop Breeding and Cultivation Research Institution, Research Center for Agricultural Products Preservation and Processing, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Interests: polyphenols; peptides; functional activity; enzymatic hydrolysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of food processing technologies, consumer interest in food nutrition and functionality has grown significantly. Bioactive constituents (e.g., polyphenols, carotenoids, dietary fiber, antioxidants, functional peptides) are critical health-promoting components in foods, yet their stability, retention, and bioavailability during processing are often compromised by complex industrial practices. This Special Issue focuses on "Novel Food Processing Technologies and Their Effects on Bioactive Components in Foods", exploring how traditional and emerging processing technologies alter the structure, content, and physiological activity of functional components in foods. 

In this Special Issue, original research Articles and Reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Mechanisms and Effects of Processing Technologies:
(1) The impact of traditional (e.g., thermal treatment, drying, fermentation) and emerging technologies (e.g., high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, cold plasma) on the retention, degradation, or transformation of bioactive constituents.
(2) Structural changes in bioactive compounds during processing and their correlation with functional activity.

2. Innovations in Analysis and Detection Methods:
(1) Application of high-throughput, high-sensitivity detection techniques (e.g., metabolomics, in situ imaging) in studying bioactive constituents during processing.
(2) Predictive modeling and simulation of dynamic changes in bioactive components during processing.

3. Bioavailability and Health Effects:
(1) The influence of post-processing food matrix properties (e.g., cell wall disruption, matrix release) on the digestion and absorption of bioactive compounds.
(2) Evaluation of bioavailability and health functionalities (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, metabolic regulation) using in vitro/in vivo models.

4. Functional Food Development and Sustainable Processing
(1) Optimization of processing techniques to retain or enrich bioactive constituents (e.g., enzymatic hydrolysis, microencapsulation).
(2) Green extraction and valorization strategies for functional components from by-products.

5. Synergistic Impacts of Processing on Safety and Nutrition:
(1) Interactions between processing-induced harmful substances (e.g., Maillard reaction products, lipid oxidation derivatives) and bioactive constituents.
(2) Regulation of allergens and antinutritional factors through processing, and associated nutritional safety assessments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mansheng Wang
Guest Editor

Dr. Xiao Wang
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

  • food processing technologies
  • bioactive constituents
  • nutrient retention
  • functional foods
  • bioavailability
  • non-thermal processing
  • sustainable processing
  • in vitro digestion models
  • metabolomics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1305 KB  
Article
Varietal Discrimination of Purple, Red, and White Rice Bran Oils Based on Physicochemical Properties, Bioactive Compounds, and Lipidomic Profiles
by Peng Zheng, Yuyue Qin, Xiaoyu Yin, Jianxin Cao, Shujie Wang and Guiguang Cheng
Molecules 2026, 31(2), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31020308 - 15 Jan 2026
Viewed by 604
Abstract
Rice bran oil (RBO) is increasingly valued for its bioactive constituents and associated health benefits. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of RBOs derived from purple (PRBO), red (RRBO), and white (WRBO) rice bran, focusing on their physicochemical properties, fatty-acid profiles, bioactive [...] Read more.
Rice bran oil (RBO) is increasingly valued for its bioactive constituents and associated health benefits. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of RBOs derived from purple (PRBO), red (RRBO), and white (WRBO) rice bran, focusing on their physicochemical properties, fatty-acid profiles, bioactive components, antioxidant activity, oxidative stability, and lipidomics. Our results demonstrate that PRBO consistently exhibited a more favorable fatty-acid composition, characterized by a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and significantly greater concentrations of bioactive compounds (including tocopherols/tocotrienols, γ-oryzanol, phytosterols, and squalene). Accordingly, PRBO showed the highest radical-scavenging activity and storage oxidative stability, followed by RRBO and WRBO. Additionally, untargeted lipidomics using UPLC–MS–MS identified 2908 lipid species spanning 57 subclasses and revealed distinct variety-specific lipid signatures. PRBO was uniquely enriched in lipid species such as ceramide phosphate (CerP) and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG). RRBO was characterized by a distinct abundance of sitosteryl esters (SiE), phosphatidic acid (PA), and cardiolipin (CL), while WRBO was distinguished by phosphatidylethanol (PEt), lysodimethylphosphatidylethanolamine (LdMePE), and sphingomyelin (SM). Overall, PRBO possessed not only a broader repertoire of lipid species but also higher relative abundances of nutritionally significant lipids. These results enable quality evaluation and varietal authentication of colored RBOs and guide their targeted use in health-oriented foods and nutritional interventions. Full article
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18 pages, 944 KB  
Article
A Model of Demasking and Hydrolysis of Peptide Bonds During Tryptic Digestion of β-Casein and β-Lactoglobulin
by Mikhail M. Vorob’ev
Molecules 2026, 31(2), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31020225 - 9 Jan 2026
Viewed by 523
Abstract
The prediction of polypeptide chain fragmentation during digestion (proteolysis) of protein substrates by trypsin was carried out for globular β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) and micellar β-casein (β-CN). Despite significant differences in the protein structures of these substrates, the concentrations of peptide fragments are calculated as [...] Read more.
The prediction of polypeptide chain fragmentation during digestion (proteolysis) of protein substrates by trypsin was carried out for globular β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) and micellar β-casein (β-CN). Despite significant differences in the protein structures of these substrates, the concentrations of peptide fragments are calculated as functions of time or degree of hydrolysis using the same equations derived from the general proteolysis model. This model considers the opening of protein substrates in the course of proteolysis, the so-called demasking process, and the subsequent hydrolysis of specific peptide bonds at different rates determined by the amino acid sequence of hydrolyzed sites. The use of this model for in silico prediction of proteolysis is discussed. An algorithm for calculating demasking rate constants based on the experimental distribution of peptide fragments is presented. The calculated concentration dependence on the degree of hydrolysis of peptide bonds was compared with the experimental data for the intermediate and final peptide fragments of β-LG and β-CN. The predicted and experimental concentration curves for the final products were compared based on their curvatures. For both substrates, the predicted redistribution of peptide fragments in the course of proteolysis was found to be consistent with the experimental one. Full article
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22 pages, 8089 KB  
Article
Enhancing Plum Wine Safety and Aroma Using Pulsed Electric Field Pretreatment
by Jian Li, Hua-Xi Huang, Dan-Li Tang, Xin-An Zeng, Lang-Hong Wang and Man-Sheng Wang
Molecules 2025, 30(22), 4393; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30224393 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 924
Abstract
Traditional soaking plum wine production is time-consuming and often results in high levels of bitter amygdalin and toxic cyanide, posing health risks. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design was employed to optimize pulsed electric field (PEF) parameters, developing [...] Read more.
Traditional soaking plum wine production is time-consuming and often results in high levels of bitter amygdalin and toxic cyanide, posing health risks. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design was employed to optimize pulsed electric field (PEF) parameters, developing a novel process integrating kernel detoxification and PEF pretreatment to mitigate these hazards, enhance the characteristic aroma (benzaldehyde), and shorten the maceration cycle. The experimental results showed that the contents of bitter amygdalin and cyanide in plum kernels after detoxification and PEF pretreatment were reduced by 62.34% and 59.62%, respectively, compared with the control group, and the contents of both were further reduced with the addition of plum flesh for further soaking in the new process. In addition, the PEF pretreatment also increased the amount of benzaldehyde extracted by 4.63% compared to the control group and resulted in a 10.53% reduction in equilibration time. Moreover, compared to the previous whole-fruit maceration process, the new process resulted in a 37.5% reduction in the final plum wine production cycle. This study provides a practical solution for improving the safety and efficiency of plum wine production and supports the industrial application of PEF technology. Full article
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