Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce the Special Issue Antioxidants and Bioactive Compounds in Fermented Foods Volume 2. Volume 1 can be found here:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/antioxidants/special_issues/Antioxidants_Fermented_Foods

Fermentation is one of the oldest techniques used in food processing and preservation. A variety of fermented foods have been developed, produced, and consumed worldwide for thousands of years to provide nutrients for human needs without being affected by seasonal availability or the environment. Fermented foods commonly consumed in Western countries include cheese, yogurt, fermented sausage, sauerkraut, bread, beer, and wine, whereas kimchi, pickles, fermented fish sauces, fermented soybean foods, and traditional alcoholic beverages are representative fermented foods eaten in Eastern countries. Over the past few decades, it has been proven that a variety of fermented foods and their bioactive compounds have health-promoting effects such as anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-dyslipidemic, anti-atherogenic, anti-inflammatory effects, etc. Consequently, fermented foods are gaining popularity around the world, and the production, consumption, export, and import of fermented foods continue to increase year after year.

In fermented foods, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and aromatic polymers present in natural materials are bioconverted to bioactive compounds of particular interest, such as phenolic compounds, γ-aminobutyric acid, γ-polyglutamic acid, conjugated linoleic acid, etc., throughout the fermentation process. It has also been reported that, while different bioactive compounds may share the same physiological functionality, a single bioactive compound may have multiple activities. Moreover, bioconversion using microbial enzymes has been applied to enhance the activity of bioactive compounds by increasing production and/or changing structural conformation. Research has shown that bioactive compounds produced through fermentation or bioconversion have functional properties, such as antioxidative activity, tyrosinase inhibitory activity, elastase inhibitory activity, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and have an effect in the prevention and treatment of several diseases such as obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and hyperpigmentation. Due to such health-promoting functions, a variety of fermented foods have become of interest as potential sources of bioactive compounds. Thus, intensive research has been conducted to increase the production of bioactive compounds that are bioconverted or newly acquired and enhance the activity of these compounds via the fermentation and bioconversion of natural materials. Such research includes: identification of novel antioxidants and bioactive compounds in a variety of fermented foods and their physiological activities; optimization of fermentation and bioconversion conditions to maximize the production and physiological activities of antioxidants and bioactive compounds; validation of practical effects of antioxidants and bioactive compounds via in vivo and clinical tests; and application of antioxidants and bioactive compounds to various industries such as medicine, cosmetics, and food industries, along with other related studies. This Special Issue will focus on new information from research on the subject above. Please submit your latest research results or review articles on antioxidants and bioactive compounds in fermented foods to be published in this Special Issue.

Dr. Jae-Hyung Mah
Prof. Dr. Dong-Sun Lee
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 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.