Nutraceuticals from Natural Products: Innovative Extraction Techniques and Their Phytochemical Properties

Dear Colleagues,

Nutraceuticals are some of the most important but also forgotten components of plant foods from folk medicine. Plant-based foods, especially herbs and medicinal plants, are a valuable source of nutraceuticals, but there is actual research that identifies nutraceuticals also in vegetables and fruits as well. A different approach is also emerging, focused on sources from other non-conventional plant parts (alga, plant-origin parasites or lichens). Over the last decade, extensive attention has been paid to their specific phytochemical properties, benefits for health stimulation, and biological and bioactive activities, as defined by Stephen Defelice (e.g., anti-viral, nutrient absorption stimulation, anti-tumor, anti-diabetes, hepatic-protective effects, anti-aging, increased lifespan and body functionality). Nutraceuticals, as a subset of foods, include nutrients and bioactive substances (e.g., dietary fiber, probiotics, prebiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), antioxidants, vitamins, polyphenols and spices), which have the ability to promote health and well-being and/or reduce the risk of diseases or the degeneration of body functions.

Extraction and fortification are two essential steps in the research and development of functional foods with high nutraceutical content from plants. Plants usually contain a wide variety of chemical constituents considered nutraceuticals, but the percentage of these ingredients is low in most cases, thus representing a challenge in the extraction and isolation of them.

Sustainability is a target of all consumers and governments in any sector, and in this way, innovative methods and efficient techniques (e.g., green extraction, local resources, and short supply chain) are significant and widely promoted. The protocols of extraction and fortification should be in accordance with environmentally friendly and cost-effective methods, but also with food safety regulations. Also, due to the general reduction in biodiversity and the fact that many nutraceuticals come from plants from spontaneous flora, the processes should not destroy the natural habitats and populations of wild plants.

The natural properties and health benefits of nutraceuticals should also be preserved by mild thermal and mechanical treatments or even by alternatives like athermal, biotechnological or other processes.

The delivery of nutraceuticals should also be taken into consideration regarding the mechanism of delivery and delayed or gradual delivery from a consumer organism point of view.

We cordially invite you to contribute your research article, communication or review to this Special Issue; this should address the extraction and isolation of the nutraceuticals of plant foods and also novel sources, and their phytochemical properties, health benefits or biological activities.

Dr. Adrian Vasile Timar
Dr. Anca Becze
Dr. Dorina Simedru
Guest Editors

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• extraction
• fortification
• nutraceuticals
• bioactive substances
• green extraction
• instrumental analysis
• health benefits
• biological activities