ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Bioactive Phytochemicals and Functional Food Ingredients in Fruits and Vegetables 2021

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 11819

Special Issue Editors

1. Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
2. Research Group on Foods, Nutritional Biochemistry and Health, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Isabel Torres 21, 39011 Santander, Spain
Interests: nutrition; health; disease prevention; dietary bioactive compounds; oxidative stress; aging; mitochondrial functionality; inflammation; bioenergetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Odontostomatologic and Specialized Clinical Sciences, Sez-Biochimica, Faculty of Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Ranieri 65, 60100 Ancona, Italy
Interests: nutrition; periodontal diseases/periodontitis; oxidative stress; aging; mitochondrial function and diseases; berries (strawberry, blueberry, bilberry, cranberry, etc.); olive oil (dietary fats); honey, polyphenols; flavonoids; antioxidants, apoptosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

The importance of diet for human health and well-being has been widely recognized. Dietary guidelines around the world recommend the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as good sources of dietary fiber, essential nutrients, and phytochemicals, to improve global health and reduce chronic disease risk. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is indeed associated with a lower incidence of several degenerative pathologies, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. In the last few years, numerous studies have demonstrated a wide range of biological properties and healthy benefits exerted by dietary phytochemicals, highlighting their beneficial role both in the prevention and in the treatment of several diseases. At the same time, functional foods have gained an enormous interest all around the world, as shown by the annual increase of their market of about 15%. Indeed, many now embrace the idea that functional foods play specific roles at different times throughout life and accept that certain foods may help to maintain a good health and prevent diseases.

The main aims of the Special Issue on "Bioactive Phytochemicals and Functional Food Ingredients in Fruits and Vegetables 2021" is to be an open forum where researchers may share their investigations and findings in this promising field and, thanks to the open access platform, increase their visibility and the chances to interact with industries and the production systems.

Dr. Francesca Giampieri
Prof. Dr. Maurizio Battino
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.

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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

19 pages, 2554 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Molecules from the Decarboxylation of Gomphrenins in Violet Gomphrena globosa L.—Floral Infusions from Functional Food
by Natalia Drobnicka, Katarzyna Sutor, Agnieszka Kumorkiewicz-Jamro, Aneta Spórna-Kucab, Michał Antonik, Ewa Dziedzic, Tomasz Świergosz, Joanna Ortyl and Sławomir Wybraniec
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(22), 8834; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21228834 - 22 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2669
Abstract
Herein, the generation of decarboxylated derivatives of gomphrenin pigments exhibiting potential health-promoting properties and the kinetics of their extraction during tea brewing from the purple flowers of Gomphrena globosa L. in aqueous and aqueous citric acid solutions were investigated. Time-dependent concentration monitoring of [...] Read more.
Herein, the generation of decarboxylated derivatives of gomphrenin pigments exhibiting potential health-promoting properties and the kinetics of their extraction during tea brewing from the purple flowers of Gomphrena globosa L. in aqueous and aqueous citric acid solutions were investigated. Time-dependent concentration monitoring of natural gomphrenins and their tentative identification was carried out by LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. The high content of acylated gomphrenins and their principal decarboxylation products, 2-, 15-, 17-decarboxy-gomphrenins, along with minor levels of their bidecarboxylated derivatives, were reported in the infusions. The identification was supported by the determination of molecular formulas of the extracted pigments by liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LCMS-IT-TOF). The influence of plant matrix on gomphrenins’ stability and generation of their derivatives, including the extraction kinetics, was determined by studying the concentration profiles in the primary and diluted infusions. Isolated and purified acylated gomphrenins from the same plant material were used for the preliminary determination of their decarboxylated derivatives. The acylated gomphrenins were found to be more stable than nonacylated ones. Citric acid addition had a degradative influence on natural gomphrenins mainly during the longer tea brewing process (above 15 min); however, the presence of plant matrix significantly increased the stability for betacyanins’ identification. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

26 pages, 7511 KiB  
Review
Physiologically Active Molecules and Functional Properties of Soybeans in Human Health—A Current Perspective
by Il-Sup Kim, Cheorl-Ho Kim and Woong-Suk Yang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(8), 4054; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22084054 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 7399
Abstract
In addition to providing nutrients, food can help prevent and treat certain diseases. In particular, research on soy products has increased dramatically following their emergence as functional foods capable of improving blood circulation and intestinal regulation. In addition to their nutritional value, soybeans [...] Read more.
In addition to providing nutrients, food can help prevent and treat certain diseases. In particular, research on soy products has increased dramatically following their emergence as functional foods capable of improving blood circulation and intestinal regulation. In addition to their nutritional value, soybeans contain specific phytochemical substances that promote health and are a source of dietary fiber, phospholipids, isoflavones (e.g., genistein and daidzein), phenolic acids, saponins, and phytic acid, while serving as a trypsin inhibitor. These individual substances have demonstrated effectiveness in preventing chronic diseases, such as arteriosclerosis, cardiac diseases, diabetes, and senile dementia, as well as in treating cancer and suppressing osteoporosis. Furthermore, soybean can affect fibrinolytic activity, control blood pressure, and improve lipid metabolism, while eliciting antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, and antibacterial effects. In this review, rather than to improve on the established studies on the reported nutritional qualities of soybeans, we intend to examine the physiological activities of soybeans that have recently been studied and confirm their potential as a high-functional, well-being food. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop