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Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and...
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Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and Functionality

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Physics and (Bio)Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 9726

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Song Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
Interests: plant functional components; analysis and identification; function evaluation; functional foods; antioxidant activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional components can be obtained from natural plants through extraction, separation, directional collection, and concentration without changing their structures. The health benefits of plant functional components, mainly including polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and other components, have been the great interest of researchers, food industry and nutraceutical industry. Studies have shown that these functional components have a variety of biological activities that play a vital role in human health, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and enhance immunity activity. Plant-based functional foods are extensively consumed because of the bioactive substances they containing and their health benefits.

This Special Issue of Foods will focus on systematic research in the field of utilization of plant functional components. In particular, the following areas are of interests: (i) Modern separation and purification technology of plant functional components; (ii) Analysis and structural identification of plant functional components; And (iii) Functional evaluation and mechanism study of plant functional components.

Dr. Song Zhu
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.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4177 KiB  
Article
Effects of Different Drying Methods on the Selenium Bioaccessibility and Antioxidant Activity of Cardamine violifolia
by Peiyu Wang, Yue Li, Ruipeng Yu, Dejian Huang, Shangwei Chen and Song Zhu
Foods 2023, 12(4), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040758 - 9 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1540
Abstract
Understanding the effects of drying on the selenium (Se) content and Se bioaccessibility of Se-rich plants is critical to dietary supplementation of Se. The effects of five common drying methods (far-infrared drying (FIRD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), hot air drying [...] Read more.
Understanding the effects of drying on the selenium (Se) content and Se bioaccessibility of Se-rich plants is critical to dietary supplementation of Se. The effects of five common drying methods (far-infrared drying (FIRD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), hot air drying (HD), and freeze vacuum drying (FD)) on the content and bioaccessibility of Se and Se species in Cardamine violifolia leaves (CVLs) were studied. The content of SeCys2 in fresh CVLs was the highest (5060.50 μg/g of dry weight (DW)); after FIRD, it had the lowest selenium loss, with a loss rate of less than 19%. Among all of the drying processes, FD and VD samples had the lowest Se retention and bioaccessibility. FIRD, VD, and FD samples have similar effects on antioxidant activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and Functionality)
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14 pages, 2498 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Inhibitory Effects of Polyphenols from Flos sophorae immaturus on α-Glucosidase: Action Mechanism, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry and Molecular Docking Analysis
by Yuhong Gong, Jun Li, Jinwei Li, Li Wang and Liuping Fan
Foods 2023, 12(4), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040715 - 7 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1747
Abstract
Flos sophorae immaturus (FSI) is considered to be a natural hypoglycemic product with the potential for a-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In this work, the polyphenols with α-glucosidase inhibition in FSI were identified, and then their potential mechanisms were investigated by omission assay, interaction, type [...] Read more.
Flos sophorae immaturus (FSI) is considered to be a natural hypoglycemic product with the potential for a-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In this work, the polyphenols with α-glucosidase inhibition in FSI were identified, and then their potential mechanisms were investigated by omission assay, interaction, type of inhibition, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, isothermal titration calorimetry and molecular docking analysis. The results showed that five polyphenols, namely rutin, quercetin, hyperoside, quercitrin and kaempferol, were identified as a-glucosidase inhibitors with IC50 values of 57, 0.21, 12.77, 25.37 and 0.55 mg/mL, respectively. Quercetin plays a considerable a-glucosidase inhibition role in FSI. Furthermore, the combination of quercetin with kaempferol generated a subadditive effect, and the combination of quercetin with rutin, hyperoside and quercitrin exhibited an interference effect. The results of inhibition kinetics, fluorescence spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry and molecular docking analysis showed that the five polyphenols were mixed inhibitors and significantly burst the fluorescence intensity of α-glucosidase. Moreover, the isothermal titration calorimetry and molecular docking analysis showed that the binding to α-glucosidase was a spontaneous heat-trapping process, with hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding being the key drivers. In general, rutin, quercetin, hyperoside, quercitrin and kaempferol in FSI are potential α-glucosidase inhibitors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and Functionality)
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12 pages, 2717 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Co-Fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum HLJ29L2 and Yeast on Wheat Protein Characteristics in Sourdough and Crackers
by Liping Hu, Yue Li, Xiang Huang, Chaodong Du, Dejian Huang and Xiumei Tao
Foods 2023, 12(3), 555; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12030555 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2126
Abstract
Sourdough fermentation has been widely used in food products. However, there has been limited study of the effect of co-fermentation with lactic acid bacteria and yeast on the dough and cracker products. In this study, the influence of co-fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum HLJ29L2 [...] Read more.
Sourdough fermentation has been widely used in food products. However, there has been limited study of the effect of co-fermentation with lactic acid bacteria and yeast on the dough and cracker products. In this study, the influence of co-fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum HLJ29L2 (LP HLJ29L2) and yeast on wheat protein digestibility of cracker was studied, and the mechanism of the protein changes in sourdough during fermentation was further explored. Co-fermentation with LP HLJ29L2 and yeast (DN-1) strongly improved the protein digestibility of cracker. At the same time, the content of free amino acids in DN-1 crackers increased by 20%. Co-fermentation also had significant effect on the sourdough during fermentation. The SDS-soluble protein content in sourdough was increased, and large molecule proteins were significantly reduced in the DN-1 sourdough. This was due to the fact, that LP HLJ29L2 grew rapidly during co-fermentation and produced more organic acids, which led to an increase in protease activity in sourdough and promoted the degradation of protein by proteases. The results of this study provide an important theoretical basis for the application of lactic acid bacteria and yeast co-fermentation in crackers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and Functionality)
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Review

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24 pages, 3556 KiB  
Review
Synergistic Hypolipidemic Effects and Mechanisms of Phytochemicals: A Review
by Yazhou Liu, Chunlong Liu, Xiaohong Kou, Yumeng Wang, Yue Yu, Ni Zhen, Jingyu Jiang, Puba Zhaxi and Zhaohui Xue
Foods 2022, 11(18), 2774; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11182774 - 9 Sep 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3713
Abstract
Hyperlipidemia, a chronic disorder of abnormal lipid metabolism, can induce obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Increasing evidence indicates that phytochemicals may serve as a promising strategy for the prevention and management of hyperlipidemia [...] Read more.
Hyperlipidemia, a chronic disorder of abnormal lipid metabolism, can induce obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Increasing evidence indicates that phytochemicals may serve as a promising strategy for the prevention and management of hyperlipidemia and its complications. At the same time, the concept of synergistic hypolipidemic and its application in the food industry is rapidly increasing as a practical approach to preserve and improve the health-promoting effects of functional ingredients. The current review focuses on the effects of single phytochemicals on hyperlipidemia and its mechanisms. Due to the complexity of the lipid metabolism regulatory network, the synergistic regulation of different metabolic pathways or targets may be more effective than single pathways or targets in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. This review summarizes for the first time the synergistic hypolipidemic effects of different combinations of phytochemicals such as combinations of the same category of phytochemicals and combinations of different categories of phytochemicals. In addition, based on the different metabolic pathways or targets involved in synergistic effects, the possible mechanisms of synergistic hypolipidemic effects of the phytochemical combination are illustrated in this review. Hence, this review provides clues to boost more phytochemical synergistic hypolipidemic research and provides a theoretical basis for the development of phytochemicals with synergistic effects on hyperlipidemia and its complications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Researches on Functional Components in Plant Foods: Separation, Analysis and Functionality)
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