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Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 5538

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ederlan S. Ferreira

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Department of Bromatological Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
Interests: food science; food biochemistry; functional food; functional protein and peptides; bioactive peptides; seed-derived peptide bioactivity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Carolina De Souza

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Department of Bromatological Analysis, College of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
Interests: food science and technology; food sustainability; food quality control; food packaging; biopolymers

Prof. Dr. Maria Beatriz Prior Pinto Oliveira

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: sustainability; nutritional value; food security; proteins and amino acids; antioxidant compounds; lipid fraction; vitamin E
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is becoming imperative to describe the determination and identification of chemical compounds in foods as an essential aspect of food analysis.

Analyzing food and food product composition is critical to determine the nutritional value, identify potential allergens and contaminants, ensure food safety, and develop functional foods and nutraceutical molecules with health‐promoting effects, such as by reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases, e.g., cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, and modulating immune responses, age-related diseases, and anti-microbial agents.

In recent years, genetically improved food and food products with unconventional ingredients have been elaborated and, e.g., the application of agro-industrial byproducts, insects, yeast, multicellular fungus, macroalgae, microalgae, and unconventional vegetables has been explored.

Such facts have triggered the development of new food products that need to be characterized.

This Special Issue aims to expand the knowledge on chemical compounds of exotic raw materials, byproducts, and unconventional feedstock to explore their potential as a nutrient source, supplementary food, and/or functional ingredient, and to explore their technofunctional properties.

We welcome the submission of original research manuscripts and reviews that explore conventional and analytical techniques, including spectroscopy, chromatography, and mass spectrometry to provide valuable information about nutritional composition, technofunctional characterization, potential contaminants, allergens, and bioactive molecules.

Dr. Ederlan S. Ferreira
Dr. Carolina De Souza
Prof. Dr. Maria Beatriz Oliveira
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

chemical composition and potential as a nutrient source, supplementary food, and/or functional ingredient
technofunctional characterization and potential application of unconventional raw materials on food products
potential of contaminants and allergens
associations between contaminants’ environmental exposure and disease-promoting effect
bioactive molecules and their potential health-promoting effects
new analytical techniques applied to the determination of chemical compounds in foods
trends and advances in food analysis methods

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Carboxymethyl Lysine in Indonesian Foods

by Patricia Budihartanti Liman, Mulyana, Yenny and Ratna Djuwita

Molecules 2024, 29(6), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29061304 - 15 Mar 2024

Viewed by 699

Abstract

There is little data on directly measured carboxymethyl lysine (CML) content in Indonesian foods. This study aimed to generate a database of CML values in foods commonly consumed in West Java and West Sumatra. The results were to be used to update our previous estimated CML values. CML values in food samples were measured using high-pressure liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Food protein content was analyzed by Kjeldahl’s method or inferred from the nutrition facts’ label. A total of 210 food samples were examined, with the food groups of meat and poultry (1.06 mg CML/100 g edible food), and starchy foods (0.21 mg/100 g edible food) having the highest and lowest mean CML levels, respectively. We found that the foods with the top three highest CML content were fried starch dough (cimol), fried fish crackers, and chicken gulai. The mean of the estimated values (0.80 mg CML/100 g edible food) was higher than the directly measured values (0.66 mg CML/100 g edible food), [p < 0.035]. Conclusion: This database provides information on CML values in Indonesian foods, and can be further used to make a guide policy for the selection of foods to reduce non-communicable diseases. Further measurements are needed on Indonesian dishes to complete the database. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods)

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21 pages, 2545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Free Amino Acid Profile of Barley Grain from Organic Fertilisation with Ash from Biomass Combustion

by Maria Czernicka, Czesław Puchalski, Renata Pawlak, Małgorzata Szostek and Ewa Szpunar-Krok

Molecules 2024, 29(1), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29010095 - 22 Dec 2023

Viewed by 680

Abstract

Fertilisation with ash from biomass combustion has a positive effect on the quality of nutrients in agrifood raw materials, improving their chemical composition and bioavailability. In the experiments carried out, the protein content and the profile of free amino acids in barley flour were examined from cultivation fertilised with biomass ash at various doses. Barley flour from Haplic Luvisol soil was characterised by a significantly higher (by 13.8% on average) total protein content compared to flour obtained from grains from Gleyic Chernozem soil. The highest protein content but a low content of free amino acids were found in the grains of plants fertilised with the mineral NPK (D1). An increase in the total pool of free amino acids in flour was observed, especially in the case of Haplic Luvisol soil. On average, after fertilising, significantly more ASP, ASN, GLU, GLY, ALA, and CYS were obtained in variant D4 (1.5 t·ha⁻¹), and there were also significantly more TAU and GABA than in the control, up by 30.2% and 23%, respectively. A beneficial effect of fertilisation on the essential amino acid content in barley flour was found, but only up to the dose of D4, when it was significantly higher than in the control and under mineral fertilising (D1), up by 23.7% and 9.2%, respectively. High ash doses reduced the content of free amino acids in the tested barley flour. This study confirmed that using an alternative method of fertilising with plant biomass ash has a beneficial effect on protein quality and nutritional value. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods)

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13 pages, 3287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Altitude on Phenolic, Antioxidant and Fatty Acid Compositions of Some Turkish Hazelnut (Coryllus avellana L.) Cultivars

by Ersin Gülsoy, Elif Duygu Kaya, Ayşe Türkhan, Menekşe Bulut, Mubin Koyuncu, Emrah Güler, Figen Sayın and Ferhad Muradoğlu

Molecules 2023, 28(13), 5067; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28135067 - 28 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1060

Abstract

Turkey is the leading producer and exporter of hazelnuts, producing approximately 64% of global hazelnut production. This research investigated the effects of cultivars and altitude on the phenolic, antioxidant, and fatty acid compositions of five hazelnut cultivars grown at three different altitudes, 100 m, 350 m, and 800 m, in Ordu province, one of the territories that produce the most hazelnuts. The results showed that the cultivar and location significantly affected phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and fatty acid (FA) content. The lowest (2.30 mg/kg-Yağlı) and highest (21.11 mg/kg-Kara) gallic acids were obtained at 100 m. The highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were found in the nuts grown at 350 m in the Kara and Palaz cultivars, at 100 m in the Yağlı and Sivri cultivars, and at 800 m in the Çakıldak cultivar. Oleic acid was the predominant FA in the cultivars and possessed a diverse trend according to the altitude and cultivar, ranging from 76.04% to 84.80%, increasing with altitude in all cultivars except Çakıldak. Palmitic acid was the predominant saturated FA followed by stearic acid, which significantly varied according to the elevations. This study suggests that the responses of hazelnuts to altitude depend on the cultivar; hence, a proper approach to producing nuts containing more phenolic, fatty acids, and antioxidant activity includes choosing a suitable cultivar for a specific elevation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods)

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Review

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38 pages, 4574 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Scoping Review on Carotenoid Profiling in Passiflora spp.: A Vast Avenue for Expanding the Knowledge on the Species

by Marina de Macedo Rodrigues Leite, Daniele Bobrowski Rodrigues, Raquel Brison, Fernanda Nepomuceno, Maria Lua Bento and Lívia de Lacerda de Oliveira

Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1585; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071585 - 02 Apr 2024

Viewed by 712

Abstract

The Passiflora genus is recognised for its ethnopharmacological, sensorial, and nutritional significance. Yet, the screening of its dietary and bioactive molecules has mainly targeted hydrophilic metabolites. Following the PRISMA-P protocol, this review assessed the current knowledge on carotenoid composition and analysis within Passiflora, examining 968 records from seven databases and including 17 studies focusing on carotenoid separation and identification in plant parts. Those publications originated in America and Asia. P. edulis was the most frequently examined species of a total of ten, while pulp was the most studied plant part (16 studies). Carotenoid analysis involved primarily high-performance liquid chromatography separation on C₁₈ columns and detection using diode array detectors (64.71%). Most studies identified the provitamin A β-carotene and xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin, with their geometric configuration often neglected. Only one study described carotenoid esters. Besides the methodology’s insufficient description, the lack of use of more accurate techniques and practices led to a high risk of bias in the carotenoid assignment in 17.65% of the articles. This review highlights the opportunity to broaden carotenoid studies to other species and parts within the diverse Passiflora genus, especially to wild, locally available fruits, which may have a strategic role in enhancing food diversity and security amidst climatic changes. Additionally, it urges the use of more accurate and efficient analytical methods based on green chemistry to better identify Passiflora carotenoids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods)

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38 pages, 6722 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Progress on Fluorescent Probes in Heavy Metal Determinations for Food Safety: A Review

by Liqing Lai, Fang Yan, Geng Chen, Yiwen Huang, Luqiang Huang and Daliang Li

Molecules 2023, 28(15), 5689; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28155689 - 27 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1807

Abstract

One of the main challenges faced in food safety is the accumulation of toxic heavy metals from environmental sources, which can sequentially endanger human health when they are consumed. It is invaluable to establish a practical assay for the determination of heavy metals for food safety. Among the current detection methods, technology based on fluorescent probes, with the advantages of sensitivity, convenience, accuracy, cost, and reliability, has recently shown pluralistic applications in the food industry, which is significant to ensure food safety. Hence, this review systematically presents the recent progress on novel fluorescent probes in determining heavy metals for food safety over the past five years, according to fluorophores and newly emerging sensing cores, which could contribute to broadening the prospects of fluorescent materials and establishing more practical assays for heavy metal determinations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Determination and Identification of Chemical Compounds in Foods)

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