Plants and Crops as Sources of Phytochemicals for Development of Functional Foods and Beverages

Dear Colleagues,

The current food industry has witnessed an increased demand for the development of new and effective functional foods and beverages mainly due to current population trends, such as the increase in global population, urbanization, and the worldwide spread of metabolic and chronic diseases. Consequently, this has resulted in increased research on food trends such as fortified and functional foods and beverages. Implementing new technologies has also resulted in more efficient extraction, faster identifications, and the improved preservation of key plant-based chemicals (phytochemicals) from several different plants and crops. Most foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, herbs, and spices are rich sources of phytochemicals that can serve as the foundation for developing functional foods. Furthermore, with agricultural production reaching the maximum output levels, there is an increased need for sourcing novel and perhaps re-emerging crops that may fill the gap in this production. This is also in addition to the valorization of industrial production (primary field of production) or re-utilization of unsold food products. Therefore, the aim of this Topic, “Plants and Crops as Sources of Phytochemicals for Development of Functional Foods and Beverages”, is to gather innovative, high-quality research manuscripts (letters to the editor, original research, and review papers) on bioactive constituents of plants and crops, (including their dietary intake) that can directly impact the development of functional foods and beverages. We encourage the submission of manuscripts reporting on different areas of this research field, from the description of new conceptual ideas, mechanisms of action, and structural modeling to clinical trials and observational studies. This Topic is expected to provide up-to-date information on many aspects of phytochemicals, with empirical emphasis on functional foods and beverages development.

Prof. Dr. Nenad Naumovski
Prof. Dr. Željko Dolijanović
Topic Editors