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Special Issues
Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants
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Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2023) | Viewed by 26898

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Fook Yee Chye

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia
Interests: nutritional composition; bioactive compounds; health benefits; plant food; edible plants; phytochemicals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As we near the end of 2022, the world population has reached 8 billion. This has created tremendous pressure for governments and policy makers, especially in low-income countries, to intensify sustainable food production and the diversification of diets. Due to climate change, the lack of agricultural land and inequal access to food, the food production systems today are expected to undergo significant changes toward plant-based foods that can be grown with a lower carbon footprint, but with a high nutritional value.

Edible plants play an important role as an essential component of human diets. Some are used as herbal medicines in traditional practices due to their health-promoting properties. Many of these edible plants are found to have a high amount of essential nutrients, such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, that meet nutritional requirements and increase the health status of poor communities. Plants are often rich in phytochemicals, a group of biological active compounds characterized by their wide diversity of functional properties and health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, cardiovascular protective, antiviral and antimicrobial effects. Thus, edible plants could potentially improve food security by being alternative sources of affordable and nutritious foods.

This Special Issue calls for manuscripts (original research/reviews) working on edible plants in any area/issue within the scope of nutritional composition, micronutrients, bioactive compounds, and functional and health-promoting properties, as well as investigations concerning the effect of cooking/processing.

Prof. Dr. Fook Yee Chye
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.

Keywords

  • terrestrial/aquatic edible plants
  • macronutrients
  • micronutrients
  • biological active compounds
  • phytochemicals
  • nutraceuticals
  • health-promoting properties
  • metabolic-related disorders

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2149 KiB  
Article
Nutritional Potential of Adzuki Bean Germplasm and Mining Nutri-Dense Accessions through Multivariate Analysis
by Deepika D. D., Siddhant Ranjan Padhi, Padmavati G. Gore, Kuldeep Tripathi, Ashvinkumar Katral, Rahul Chandora, G. J. Abhishek, Vishal Kondal, Rakesh Singh, Rakesh Bharadwaj, Kailash C. Bhatt, Jai Chand Rana and Amritbir Riar
Foods 2023, 12(22), 4159; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224159 - 17 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2434
Abstract
The adzuki bean (Vigna angularis), known for its rich nutritional composition, holds significant promise in addressing food and nutritional security, particularly for low socioeconomic classes and the predominantly vegetarian and vegan populations worldwide. In this study, we assessed a total of [...] Read more.
The adzuki bean (Vigna angularis), known for its rich nutritional composition, holds significant promise in addressing food and nutritional security, particularly for low socioeconomic classes and the predominantly vegetarian and vegan populations worldwide. In this study, we assessed a total of 100 diverse adzuki bean accessions, analyzing essential nutritional compounds using AOAC’s official analysis procedures and other widely accepted standard techniques. Our analysis of variance revealed significant genotype variations for all the traits studied. The variability range among different traits was as follows: moisture: 7.5–13.3 g/100 g, ash: 1.8–4.2 g/100 g, protein: 18.0–23.9 g/100 g, starch: 31.0–43.9 g/100 g, total soluble sugar: 3.0–8.2 g/100 g, phytic acid: 0.65–1.43 g/100 g, phenol: 0.01–0.59 g/100 g, antioxidant: 11.4–19.7 mg/100 g GAE. Noteworthy accessions included IC341955 and EC15256, exhibiting very high protein content, while IC341957 and IC341955 showed increased antioxidant activity. To understand intertrait relationships, we computed correlation coefficients between the traits. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that the first four principal components contributed to 63.6% of the variation. Further, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) identified nutri-dense accessions, such as IC360533, characterized by high ash (>4.2 g/100 g) and protein (>23.4 g/100 g) content and low phytic acid (0.652 g/100 g). These promising compositions provide practical support for the development of high-value food and feed varieties using effective breeding strategies, ultimately contributing to improved global food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants)
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20 pages, 4380 KiB  
Article
Nutraceutical Potential of Leafy Vegetables Landraces at Microgreen, Baby, and Adult Stages of Development
by Cristina Mallor, Juan Ramón Bertolín, Pablo Paracuellos and Teresa Juan
Foods 2023, 12(17), 3173; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12173173 - 23 Aug 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2187
Abstract
Nutraceutical compounds present in leafy vegetables have gained substantial attention due to the health benefits they offer beyond their nutritional value. The biosynthesis, composition, and concentration of these compounds vary widely among leafy vegetables and carry the influence of genetic, agronomic, and environmental [...] Read more.
Nutraceutical compounds present in leafy vegetables have gained substantial attention due to the health benefits they offer beyond their nutritional value. The biosynthesis, composition, and concentration of these compounds vary widely among leafy vegetables and carry the influence of genetic, agronomic, and environmental factors. Recently, micro-vegetables are gaining importance among consumers worldwide and are used in gastronomy at different development stages. Another tendency is the utilization of local genetic resources as an integral component of agricultural biodiversity crucial for sustainable production. The present study identifies the nutraceutical potential of 10 leafy vegetables at the microgreen, baby, and adult development stages using local genetic resources from the Spanish Vegetable Genebank (CITA, Aragón). Specifically, two landraces for each of the following crops were used: chard (Beta vulgaris), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), borage (Borago officinalis), and chicory (Cichorium intybus). The results reinforce the value of traditional local genetics and demonstrate the potential of these leafy vegetables as a source of functional compounds (fatty acids, vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols, antioxidant activity, and tocopherols). The observed variability depending on the crop and the developmental stage recommends the necessity of having a varied diet, since each leafy vegetable product offers a unique nutritional profile. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants)
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13 pages, 3238 KiB  
Article
Phenolic Profiles, Antioxidant, and Hypoglycemic Activities of Ribes meyeri Fruits
by Le Zhang, Qiang Wang, Yayun Zhao, Juan Ge and Dajun He
Foods 2023, 12(12), 2406; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12122406 - 18 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1574
Abstract
Ribes meyeri is a Ribes genus in the Saxifragaceae family, which is used as both medicine and food. However, the active components and biological activities of R. meyeri fruits are still unknown. In this paper, the phenolic components and their antioxidant and hypoglycemic [...] Read more.
Ribes meyeri is a Ribes genus in the Saxifragaceae family, which is used as both medicine and food. However, the active components and biological activities of R. meyeri fruits are still unknown. In this paper, the phenolic components and their antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of R. meyeri fruits were studied. Firstly, a total of 42 phenolic components of R. meyeri fruits, including 26 anthocyanins, 9 flavonoids, and 7 phenolic acids, were tentatively identified using HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, and the main four anthocyanins were quantified using UPLC-MS/MS. The result indicated that cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside is the main anthocyanin in the R. meyeri fruits. The anthocyanin fraction of R. meyeri fruits exhibited significant inhibitory activity on α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The anthocyanin fraction from R. meyeri fruits significantly increased the glucose uptake of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. This is the first study of a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the phenolics of R. meyeri fruits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants)
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Review

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40 pages, 2429 KiB  
Review
A Comprehensive Review of Pea (Pisum sativum L.): Chemical Composition, Processing, Health Benefits, and Food Applications
by Ding-Tao Wu, Wen-Xing Li, Jia-Jia Wan, Yi-Chen Hu, Ren-You Gan and Liang Zou
Foods 2023, 12(13), 2527; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12132527 - 29 Jun 2023
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 19996
Abstract
Pisum sativum L., commonly referred to as dry, green, or field pea, is one of the most common legumes that is popular and economically important. Due to its richness in a variety of nutritional and bioactive ingredients, the consumption of pea has been [...] Read more.
Pisum sativum L., commonly referred to as dry, green, or field pea, is one of the most common legumes that is popular and economically important. Due to its richness in a variety of nutritional and bioactive ingredients, the consumption of pea has been suggested to be associated with a wide range of health benefits, and there has been increasing focus on its potential as a functional food. However, there have been limited literature reviews concerning the bioactive compounds, health-promoting effects, and potential applications of pea up to now. This review, therefore, summarizes the literature from the last ten years regarding the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, processing, health benefits, and potential applications of pea. Whole peas are rich in macronutrients, including proteins, starches, dietary fiber, and non-starch polysaccharides. In addition, polyphenols, especially flavonoids and phenolic acids, are important bioactive ingredients that are mainly distributed in the pea coats. Anti-nutritional factors, such as phytic acid, lectin, and trypsin inhibitors, may hinder nutrient absorption. Whole pea seeds can be processed by different techniques such as drying, milling, soaking, and cooking to improve their functional properties. In addition, physicochemical and functional properties of pea starches and pea proteins can be improved by chemical, physical, enzymatic, and combined modification methods. Owing to the multiple bioactive ingredients in peas, the pea and its products exhibit various health benefits, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-renal fibrosis, and regulation of metabolic syndrome effects. Peas have been processed into various products such as pea beverages, germinated pea products, pea flour-incorporated products, pea-based meat alternatives, and encapsulation and packing materials. Furthermore, recommendations are also provided on how to better utilize peas to promote their development as a sustainable and functional grain. Pea and its components can be further developed into more valuable and nutritious products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Edible Plants)
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