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Application of Natural Bioactive Components to Improve the Nutritional and...
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Application of Natural Bioactive Components to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 2424

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kefeng Zhai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biological and Food Engineering, Suzhou University, Suzhou, China
Interests: natural products; antioxidation; functional food; human health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on bioactive compounds from natural products, especially those that are homologous to medicine and food. The application of homology of medicine and food has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine. There are many studies which have proved that medicine food homology has effective, long-term edible safety and can prevent disease occurrence and maintain health.

Medicine food homology provides many bioactive compounds like carbohydrates, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, quinones, and polyphenols that regulate nutrients in health and disease. The Special Issue “Application of Natural Bioactive Components to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products” welcomes the latest findings on medicine food homology and the bioactivity regulation of nutrients in health and disease, including the following aspects:

  • The application of molecular biological techniques in natural products;
  • Bioactive compounds from natural products as a tool for functional food development;
  • The structure–activity relationship, bioactivity, and related mechanisms;
  • Structure and bioactivity screening of functional ingredients from natural products;
  • The mechanism of interaction between bioactive compounds from natural products.

Dr. Kefeng Zhai
Guest Editor

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.

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. Foods 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 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.

Keywords

  • natural products
  • bioactive compounds
  • bioactivity and the related mechanisms
  • functional ingredients
  • functional food development
  • nutritional and health-related properties

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2644 KiB  
Article
Combined Effects of Ziziphus jujuba, Dimocarpus longan, and Lactuca sativa on Sleep-Related Behaviors through GABAergic Signaling
by Gi Yeon Bae, Kayoung Ko, Eunseon Yang, Sung-Soo Park, Hyung Joo Suh and Ki-Bae Hong
Foods 2024, 13(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13010001 - 19 Dec 2023
Viewed by 907
Abstract
We aimed to analyze the increase in the sleep-promoting effects based on the mixed ratio of botanical extracts, Ziziphus jujuba seeds, Dimocarpus longan fruits, and Lactuca sativa leaves, using animal models. Behavioral analyses, including an analysis of the total sleep time of Drosophila [...] Read more.
We aimed to analyze the increase in the sleep-promoting effects based on the mixed ratio of botanical extracts, Ziziphus jujuba seeds, Dimocarpus longan fruits, and Lactuca sativa leaves, using animal models. Behavioral analyses, including an analysis of the total sleep time of Drosophila melanogaster, were conducted to select the optimal mixed ratio of the three botanical extracts. The effects were verified in a caffeine-induced sleepless model, specific neurotransmitter receptor antagonists, and ICR mice. In D. melanogaster exposed to 2.0% of each extract, group behavior was significantly reduced, and the mixed extracts of Z. jujuba, D. longan, and L. sativa (4:1:1 and 1:4:1) significantly increased the total sleep time with individual fruit flies. In the caffeine-induced insomnia model, mixed extracts (4:1:1 and 1:4:1) led to the highest increase in total sleep time. An analysis of locomotor ability revealed a significant reduction in the mobility percentage in the mixed extract groups (0:0:1, 1:0:1, 1:1:1, 4:1:1, and 1:4:1). The administration of Z. jujuba extract and mixed extracts (4:1:1) significantly increased the expression of GABAA-R, whereas the administration of the mixed extracts (4:1:1) and (1:4:1) significantly increased the expression of GABAB-R1 and GABAB-R2, respectively. D. longan extract and the mixed ratio (1:4:1) reduced the subjective nighttime movement and increased the total sleep time in the presence of flumazenil. An analysis of ICR mice indicated that the administration of mixed extracts (4:1:1) significantly increased sleep duration in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that the mixed ratio of Z. jujuba, D. longan, and L. sativa extracts, particularly the mixed ratio of 4:1:1, may have sleep-enhancing effects in fruit flies and mice. The study also identified changes in gene expression related to GABA receptors, indicating the potential mechanism for the observed sleep-promoting effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Natural Bioactive Components to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products)
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16 pages, 5757 KiB  
Article
Fabrication and Characterization of Complex Coacervation: The Integration of Sesame Protein Isolate-Polysaccharides
by Zeng Dong, Shirong Yu, Kefeng Zhai, Nina Bao, Marwan M. A. Rashed and Xiao Wu
Foods 2023, 12(19), 3696; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12193696 - 08 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1109
Abstract
The exceptional biocompatibility of emulsion systems that rely on stabilizing protein–polysaccharide particles presents extensive possibilities for the transportation of bioactive carriers, making them highly promising for various biological applications. The current work aimed to explore the phenomenon of complex coacervation between sesame protein [...] Read more.
The exceptional biocompatibility of emulsion systems that rely on stabilizing protein–polysaccharide particles presents extensive possibilities for the transportation of bioactive carriers, making them highly promising for various biological applications. The current work aimed to explore the phenomenon of complex coacervation between sesame protein isolate (SPI) and four distinct polysaccharides, namely, Arabic gum (GA), carrageenan (CAR), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium alginate (SA). The study objective was achieved by fabricating emulsions through the blending of these polymers with oil at their maximum turbidity level (φ = 0.6), followed by the measurement of their rheological properties. The turbidity, ζ-potential, and particle size were among the techno-parameters analyzed to assess the emulsion stability. The microstructural characterization of the emulsions was conducted using both transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the functional properties were examined using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SPI incorporated with SA, CMC, and CAR reached the maximum turbidity (0.2% w/v) at a ratio of 4:1, corresponding to the pH values of 4.5, 3, or 3.5, respectively. The SPI–GA mixture exhibited the maximum turbidity at a ratio of 10:1 and pH 4.5. Results from the FTIR and XRD analyses provided evidence of complex formation between SPI and the four polysaccharides, with the electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions facilitating the binding of SPI to these polysaccharides. SPI was bound to the four polysaccharides through electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions. The SPI–CMC and SPI–SA emulsions were more stable after two weeks of storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Natural Bioactive Components to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products)
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