New Challenges and Opportunities of Plant-Based Fermented Foods

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 8314

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council, Lecce, Italy
Interests: food biotechnology; microbiology; table olives; fermentation; food products; valorization of agro-food co-products; food biotechnology
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Guest Editor
Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), Italian National Research Council, Rome, Italy
Interests: food chemistry; nutraceuticals and botanicals; polyphenols; functional foods; antioxidants; biaccessibility; bioavailability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Fermentation is globally applied in the transformation and preservation of a range of raw agricultural materials (cereals, roots, tubers, fruit and vegetables, etc.). It is estimated that fermented foods contribute to about one-third of the diet worldwide and commercially produced fermented foods are marketed globally. During fermentation processes, microbial growth and metabolism as well as the interaction with the plant matrices result in the production of a diversity of metabolites. 

These metabolites include enzymes, sugars, proteins and lipids; vitamins; antimicrobial compounds; texture-forming agents; amino acids; organic acids and flavour compounds. Microorganisms and metabolic pathways associated with the production of plant-based fermented foods are considered for the improvement of the efficiency of fermentation processes and the quality and consistency, safety and nutritional traits of fermented foods. Additionally, plant-fermented food are exploited as source of probiotics and as alternative non-dairy food matrices for probiotic administration to promote the health of humans, animals and plants. They have also activities in delivering associated bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins, fiber, minerals, and triterpenic acids that are linked to the reduction of heart disease and other age-related morbid conditions.

New insights in basic and advanced research and processing (bio)technologies making it possible to obtain products, including new ones, with improved nutritional and/or functional features and prolonged shelf life, are sought for this Special Issue. 

Dr. Gianluca Bleve
Dr. Angela Cardinali
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fermentation
  • fermented foods
  • plant-based fermented foods
  • microbiota
  • safety
  • biopreservation
  • probiotics
  • bioactive compounds
  • predictive microbiology
  • nutritional features

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 3669 KiB  
Article
The Controlled Semi-Solid Fermentation of Seaweeds as a Strategy for Their Stabilization and New Food Applications
by Gabriele Maiorano, Francesca Anna Ramires, Miriana Durante, Ilaria Elena Palamà, Federica Blando, Gianluca De Rinaldis, Ezio Perbellini, Valeria Patruno, Carlo Gadaleta Caldarola, Santa Vitucci, Giovanni Mita and Gianluca Bleve
Foods 2022, 11(18), 2811; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11182811 - 12 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3628
Abstract
For centuries, macroalgae, or seaweeds, have been a significant part of East Asian diets. In Europe, seaweeds are not considered traditional foods, even though they are increasingly popular in Western diets in human food applications. In this study, a biological processing method based [...] Read more.
For centuries, macroalgae, or seaweeds, have been a significant part of East Asian diets. In Europe, seaweeds are not considered traditional foods, even though they are increasingly popular in Western diets in human food applications. In this study, a biological processing method based on semi-solid fermentation was optimized for the treatment of the seaweed Gracilaria gracilis. For the first time, selected lactic acid bacteria and non-conventional coagulase-negative staphylococci were used as starter preparations for driving a bio-processing and bio-stabilization of raw macroalga material to obtain new seaweed-based food prototypes for human consumption. Definite food safety and process hygiene criteria were identified and successfully applied. The obtained fermented products did not show any presence of pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms, thereby indicating safety and good shelf life. Lactobacillus acidophilus-treated seaweeds revealed higher α-amylase, protease, lipase, endo-cellulase, and endo-xylanase activity than in the untreated sample. This fermented sample showed a balanced n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio. SBM-11 (Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus xylosus) and PROMIX 1 (Staphylococcus xylosus) treated samples showed fatty acid compositions that were considered of good nutritional quality and contained relevant amounts of isoprenoids (vitamin E and A). All the starters improved the nutritional value of the seaweeds by significantly reducing the insoluble indigestible fractions. Preliminary data were obtained on the cytocompatibility of G. gracilis fermented products by in vitro tests. This approach served as a valid strategy for the easy bio-stabilization of this valuable but perishable food resource and could boost its employment for newly designed seaweed-based food products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges and Opportunities of Plant-Based Fermented Foods)
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12 pages, 376 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Quality Characteristics of Commercial Kimchi Manufactured in Korea, China, and the United States
by Ye-Rang Yun, Jin Ju Lee, Hye Jin Lee, Yun-Jeong Choi, Jong-Hee Lee, Sung Jin Park, Sung Hee Park, Hye-Young Seo and Sung Gi Min
Foods 2021, 10(10), 2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10102488 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4152
Abstract
Recently, kimchi has been recognized as a healthy food worldwide, prompting increased interest in its health benefits and quality characteristics. Although commercial kimchi is manufactured in various countries, little is known about quality differences between the kimchi from different countries. To clarify differences [...] Read more.
Recently, kimchi has been recognized as a healthy food worldwide, prompting increased interest in its health benefits and quality characteristics. Although commercial kimchi is manufactured in various countries, little is known about quality differences between the kimchi from different countries. To clarify differences in quality characteristics, minerals, free sugars, organic acids, free amino acids, and volatile compounds, commercial kimchi manufactured in Korea, China, and the United States were investigated. The composition of the microbial community and antioxidant activity were compared. Mineral and free sugar contents were high in Korean commercial kimchi, while the organic acid content was relatively low. The free amino acid content was markedly higher in Korean kimchi than that in kimchi manufactured in China and the United States. In addition, the volatile compound content differed between the kimchi produced in different countries. Considering the microbial communities, Leuconostoc and Weissella were more abundant in commercial kimchi from Korea than that from China or the United States. Commercial kimchi in Korea showed the highest antioxidant activity. These results support the high quality and antioxidant activity of commercial kimchi manufactured in Korea, emphasizing its importance in the global kimchi industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges and Opportunities of Plant-Based Fermented Foods)
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