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Discovery of Functional Foods
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Discovery of Functional Foods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 8998

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mei-Chin Yin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Nutrition and Health Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung 413305, Taiwan
Interests: functional foods; clinical nutrition; liver diseases; diabetes; obesity; traditional Chinese medicine; apoptosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

“Molecules”, a famous international journal, publishes research articles with advanced and novel scientific findings.  This special issue “Discovery of Functional Foods” welcomes high quality original research articles (not review article) deal with functional foods from natural sources including marine, microorganisms, edible plants and animals.  Foods with special functions or so-called bioactivities such as anti-oxidative, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and even anti-cancer have attracted more and more attentions in past decades due to their nutritional and medical contributions.  Both in vitro and in vivo (cell lines, animals, or human) studies are acceptable for submission.  Articles focused on the functions of extracts or fractions of foods could be considered for publication only when phytochemical composition or possible active compounds has been determined and mechanisms of bio-functions have been evaluated.  Each accepted article should have clear goals, appropriate experimental methods and solid evidence.  Manuscripts regarding the effects of single compound or combined effects of two or more compounds might be submitted to other appropriate journals.

Prof. Dr. Mei-Chin Yin
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. 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

  • functional foods
  • aqueous extract
  • food chemistry
  • phytochemicals
  • bioactivities
  • nutritional values
  • safety

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1849 KiB  
Article
Cranberry Ingestion Modulated Drug Transporters and Metabolizing Enzymes: Gefitinib Used as a Probe Substrate in Rats
by Chung-Ping Yu, Pei-Ling Tsai, Pei-Ying Li, Pei-Wen Hsu, Shiuan-Pey Lin, Pei-Dawn Lee Chao and Yu-Chi Hou
Molecules 2022, 27(18), 5772; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27185772 - 6 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1797
Abstract
Cranberry, a polyphenol-rich functional food, is commonly used for the prophylaxis of urinary tract infections. Gefitinib, an anticancer agent clinically prescribed to treat non-small-cell lung cancer, is a substrate of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and metabolized mainly by cytochrome [...] Read more.
Cranberry, a polyphenol-rich functional food, is commonly used for the prophylaxis of urinary tract infections. Gefitinib, an anticancer agent clinically prescribed to treat non-small-cell lung cancer, is a substrate of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and metabolized mainly by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and CYP2D6. This study used gefitinib as a probe substrate to investigate the modulation of cranberry on P-gp, BCRP, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6. Rats were administered gefitinib with and without 5.0 g/kg of cranberry as juice (CJ). The concentration of gefitinib in serum was determined by LC-MS/MS. The results showed that CJ significantly increased the Cmax and AUC0-t of gefitinib by 28% and 55%, respectively. Mechanism studies indicated that CJ activated P-gp, and cranberry metabolites (CM) inhibited CYP2D6. Moreover, the protein level of P-gp in rat enterocytes was decreased, whereas that in hepatocytes was increased. In addition, the protein levels of BCRP, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 in enterocytes and hepatocytes were decreased. In conclusion, CJ ingestion affected the activities and protein levels of P-gp, BCRP, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Functional Foods)
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17 pages, 10210 KiB  
Article
Protective Effects of Jujubosides on 6-OHDA-Induced Neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH Cells
by Chao-Hsuan Chen, Pei-Chen Hsu, Shih-Wei Hsu, Kun-Ting Hong, Kai-Yuan Chen, Jie-Long He, Der-Yang Cho, Yun-Chi Wang, Wen-Shin Chang, Da-Tian Bau and Chia-Wen Tsai
Molecules 2022, 27(13), 4106; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134106 - 26 Jun 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2119
Abstract
6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is used to induce oxidative damage in neuronal cells, which can serve as an experimental model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Jujuboside A and B confer free radical scavenging effects but have never been examined for their neuroprotective effects, especially in PD; [...] Read more.
6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is used to induce oxidative damage in neuronal cells, which can serve as an experimental model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Jujuboside A and B confer free radical scavenging effects but have never been examined for their neuroprotective effects, especially in PD; therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of jujubosides as protectors of neurons against 6-OHDA and the underlying mechanisms. 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in the human neuronal cell lines SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH, was used to evaluate the protective effects of jujubosides. These findings indicated that jujuboside A and B were both capable of rescuing the 6-OHDA-induced loss of cell viability, activation of apoptosis, elevation of reactive oxygen species, and downregulation of the expression levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. In addition, jujuboside A and B can reverse a 6-OHDA-elevated Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, downregulate phosphorylated PI3K and AKT, and activate caspase-3, -7, and -9. These findings showed that jujubosides were capable of protecting both SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH neuronal cells from 6-OHDA-induced toxicity via the rebalancing of the redox system, together with the resetting of the PI3K/AKT apoptotic signaling cascade. In conclusion, jujuboside may be a potential drug for PD prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Functional Foods)
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15 pages, 3832 KiB  
Article
Hepatoprotective Activity of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Seedpod Extract Attenuated Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity
by Hui-Hsuan Lin, Jen-Ying Hsu, Chiao-Yun Tseng, Xiao-Yin Huang, Hsien-Chun Tseng and Jing-Hsien Chen
Molecules 2022, 27(13), 4030; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134030 - 23 Jun 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2481
Abstract
The aim is to investigate the effect of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) seedpod extract (LSE) on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity. LSE is rich in polyphenols and has potent antioxidant capacity. APAP is a commonly used analgesic, while APAP overdose is the main reason [...] Read more.
The aim is to investigate the effect of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) seedpod extract (LSE) on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity. LSE is rich in polyphenols and has potent antioxidant capacity. APAP is a commonly used analgesic, while APAP overdose is the main reason for drug toxicity in the liver. Until now, there has been no in vitro test of LSE in drug-induced hepatotoxicity responses. LSEs were used to evaluate the effect on APAP-induced cytotoxicity, ROS level, apoptotic rate, and molecule mechanisms. The co-treatment of APAP and LSEs elevated the survival rate and decreased intracellular ROS levels on HepG2 cells. LSEs treatment could significantly reduce APAP-induced HepG2 apoptosis assessed by DAPI and Annexin V/PI. The further molecule mechanisms indicated that LSEs decreased Fas/FasL binding and reduced Bax and tBid to restore mitochondrial structure and subsequently suppress downstream apoptosis cascade activation. These declines in COX-2, NF-κB, and iNOS levels were observed in co-treatment APAP and LSEs, which indicated that LSEs could ameliorate APAP-induced inflammation. LSE protected APAP-induced apoptosis by preventing extrinsic, intrinsic, and JNK-mediated pathways. In addition, the restoration of mitochondria and inflammatory suppression in LSEs treatments indicated that LSEs could decrease oxidative stress induced by toxic APAP. Therefore, LSE could be a novel therapeutic option for an antidote against overdose of APAP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Functional Foods)
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13 pages, 2724 KiB  
Article
The Hydrolytic Peptides of Soybean Protein Induce Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis on Human Oral Cancer Cell Line HSC-3
by Cheng-Hong Hsieh, Tzu-Yuan Wang, Bo-Chen Tung, Hui-Ping Liu, Lien-Te Yeh and Kuo-Chiang Hsu
Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2839; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092839 - 29 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1919
Abstract
Protein hydrolysates from various sources, including tuna cooking juice, soy protein isolate, sodium caseinate, wheat gluten and skin gelatin from porcine, tilapia, halibut and milkfish were analyzed to screen their antiproliferative activities against the human oral squamous carcinoma cell line, HSC-3. The soy [...] Read more.
Protein hydrolysates from various sources, including tuna cooking juice, soy protein isolate, sodium caseinate, wheat gluten and skin gelatin from porcine, tilapia, halibut and milkfish were analyzed to screen their antiproliferative activities against the human oral squamous carcinoma cell line, HSC-3. The soy protein isolate was selected for further investigations based on its hydrolysates with bromelain (SB) and thermolysin (ST), showing the greatest inhibition of cell growth. The SB and ST hydrolysates showed antiproliferative activities up to 35.45–76.39% against HSC-3 cells at 72 h, and their IC50 values were 0.74 and 0.60 mg/mL, respectively. SB and ST induced cell cycle arrest in the S phase through a pathway independent of p21 and p27 protein expression. Further, ST induced the apoptosis of HSC-3 cells by downregulating expression of Bcl-2, PARP, caspase 3 and caspase 9, but an upregulating expression of p53 and cleaved caspase 3. Unlike ST, SB may induce necrosis on HSC-3 cells. Thus, soybean hydrolysates may be a good source for providing antiproliferative peptides against HSC-3, while SB and ST may have the potential to be developed as functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Functional Foods)
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