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Functional Foods and Dietary Bioactives in Human Health
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Functional Foods and Dietary Bioactives in Human Health

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 4937

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Raffaella Comitato

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CREA—Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: molecular biology; bioactive compounds; molecular nutrition; hormone metabolism; cancer; hormone-related diseases; nutrigenomics; nutrigenetics; metabolic disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eugenia Venneria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CREA—Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: nutritional status; health; immunological status; hormonal status; inflammatory status
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Federica Intorre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CREA- Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Interests: nutrition; health status; human observational studies and intervention trials; diet and lifestyle; bioactive compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the WHO, nutrition is a critical part of health and development. Better nutrition is related to the improved infant, child, and maternal health, stronger immune systems, safer pregnancy and childbirth, lower risk of non-communicable diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease), and longevity.

Food is a complex combination of numerous components that can be classified into nutrients (macro- and micro-) and non-nutrients. All food components likely work together to drive metabolic processes in every cell of the body, deepening the knowledge of genetic, epigenetic and molecular mechanisms of food components and how they affect our health, improving our awareness that good nutrition promotes good health.

The number of variables influencing human nutritional status is so high that there are different research approaches that can be used to deepen the understanding of nutritional science, from molecular nutrition to consumer choice. Likewise, it is possible to study food, functional foods, bioactive compounds, health status, or disease. These approaches collectively provide information for the design of interventions for promoting optimal nutrition.

In recent years, functional foods have gained popularity within health and wellness circles. Also known as nutraceuticals, functional foods are highly nutritious and associated with a number of powerful health benefits when consumed on a regular basis and at certain levels. A functional food can be a natural food or a food containing one or more specific components (bioactive molecules), which can be added to, removed from, or naturally enhanced or modified in food to provide health benefits, mainly on early development and growth, regulation of metabolic processes, defense against oxidative stress, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal physiology.

Finally, bioactive molecules are present in small amounts in food items and their effect on human health is being continuously investigated. Epidemiological data support that a high intake of natural functional foods, such as specific fruits and vegetables, which are rich in bioactive compounds, is associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases.

Based on the above, the current special issue aims to address molecular nutrition in a multidisciplinary approach in all the aspects related to human nutrition, the mechanisms of metabolic regulation and, in general, the interaction between organisms and food, dealing with physiology and food-related diseases too. Therefore, the scientific community is cordially invited to contribute original research papers or reviews to this Special Issue of Molecules.

Dr. Raffaella Comitato
Dr. Eugenia Venneria
Dr. Federica Intorre
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. Molecules 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 2700 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

  • food
  • nutrition
  • human health
  • functional foods
  • bioactive molecules
  • food products
  • nutraceutics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 1074 KiB  
Article
Bioaccessibility of Phenolic Compounds, Resistant Starch, and Dietary Fibers from Australian Green Banana during In Vitro Digestion and Colonic Fermentation
by Yasmeen M. Bashmil, Frank R. Dunshea, Rudi Appels and Hafiz A. R. Suleria
Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1535; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071535 - 29 Mar 2024
Viewed by 508
Abstract
Green bananas contain a substantial amount of resistant starch (RS), dietary fiber (DF), and phytochemicals, which exhibit potent antioxidant capabilities, primarily attributable to the abundance of polyphenols. The objective of this study was to assess the variations in the contents and bioaccessibility of [...] Read more.
Green bananas contain a substantial amount of resistant starch (RS), dietary fiber (DF), and phytochemicals, which exhibit potent antioxidant capabilities, primarily attributable to the abundance of polyphenols. The objective of this study was to assess the variations in the contents and bioaccessibility of RS, DF, and phenolic compounds in three types of Australian green bananas (Cavendish “Musa acuminata”, Ladyfinger “Musa paradisiaca L.”, and Ducasse “Musa balbisiana”), along with their antioxidant capacities, and the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) following in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation. The studied cultivars exhibited significant levels of RS, with Ladyfinger showing the greatest (49%). However, Ducasse bananas had the greatest DF concentration (38.73%). Greater TPC levels for Ladyfinger (2.32 mg GAE/g), as well as TFC and TTC (0.06 mg QE/g and 3.2 mg CE/g, respectively) in Cavendish, together with strong antioxidant capacities (DPPH, 0.89 mg TE/g in Cavendish), have been detected after both intestinal phase and colonic fermentation at 12 and 24 h. The bioaccessibility of most phenolic compounds from bananas was high after gastric and small intestinal digestion. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of kaempferol (31% in Cavendish) remained detectable in the residue after colonic fermentation. The greatest production of SCFAs in all banana cultivars was observed after 24 h of fermentation, except valeric acid, which exhibited the greatest output after 12 h of fermentation. In conclusion, the consumption of whole green bananas may have an advantageous effect on bowel health and offer antioxidant characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Dietary Bioactives in Human Health)
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15 pages, 3416 KiB  
Article
Structural Characterization and Properties of Modified Soybean Meal Protein via Solid-State Fermentation by Bacillus subtilis
by Xinyu Miao, Honghong Niu, Mubai Sun, Da Li, Mei Hua, Jinghui Wang and Ying Su
Molecules 2023, 28(24), 8015; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28248015 - 08 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1143
Abstract
Soybean meal (SBM) is a high-quality vegetable protein, whose application is greatly limited due to its high molecular weight and anti-nutritional properties. The aim of this study was to modify the protein of soybean meal via solid-state fermentation of Bacillus subtilis. The [...] Read more.
Soybean meal (SBM) is a high-quality vegetable protein, whose application is greatly limited due to its high molecular weight and anti-nutritional properties. The aim of this study was to modify the protein of soybean meal via solid-state fermentation of Bacillus subtilis. The fermentation conditions were optimized as, finally, the best process parameters were obtained, namely fermentation temperature of 37 °C, inoculum amount of 12%, time of 47 h, and material-liquid ratio of 1:0.58, which improved the content of acid-soluble protein. To explore the utilization of modified SBM as a food ingredient, the protein structure and properties were investigated. Compared to SBM, the protein secondary structure of fermented soybean meal (FSBM) from the optimal process decreased by 8.3% for α-helix content, increased by 3.08% for β-sheet, increased by 2.71% for β-turn, and increased by 2.51% for random coil. SDS-PAGE patterns showed that its 25–250 KDa bands appeared to be significantly attenuated, with multiple newborn peptide bands smaller than 25 KDa. The analysis of particle size and zeta potential showed that fermentation reduced the average particle size and increased the absolute value of zeta potential. It was visualized by SEM and CLSM maps that the macromolecular proteins in FSBM were broken down into fragmented pieces with a folded and porous surface structure. Fermentation increased the solubility, decreased the hydrophobicity, increased the free sulfhydryl content, decreased the antigenicity, improved the protein properties of SBM, and promoted further processing and production of FSBM as a food ingredient. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Dietary Bioactives in Human Health)
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Review

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24 pages, 772 KiB  
Review
Could Selenium Supplementation Prevent COVID-19? A Comprehensive Review of Available Studies
by Roberto Ambra, Sahara Melloni and Eugenia Venneria
Molecules 2023, 28(10), 4130; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28104130 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2315
Abstract
The purpose of this review is to systematically examine the scientific evidence investigating selenium’s relationship with COVID-19, aiming to support, or refute, the growing hypothesis that supplementation could prevent COVID-19 etiopathogenesis. In fact, immediately after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several speculative [...] Read more.
The purpose of this review is to systematically examine the scientific evidence investigating selenium’s relationship with COVID-19, aiming to support, or refute, the growing hypothesis that supplementation could prevent COVID-19 etiopathogenesis. In fact, immediately after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several speculative reviews suggested that selenium supplementation in the general population could act as a silver bullet to limit or even prevent the disease. Instead, a deep reading of the scientific reports on selenium and COVID-19 that are available to date supports neither the specific role of selenium in COVID-19 severity, nor the role of its supplementation in the prevention disease onset, nor its etiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Foods and Dietary Bioactives in Human Health)
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