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Application of Natural Plant Extracts to Improve the Nutritional and...
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Application of Natural Plant Extracts to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 2932

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giuseppina Crescente

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council (ISA-CNR), 83100 Avellino, Italy
Interests: food chemistry; natural products; antioxidant activity; chemical characterization
Dr. Stefania Moccia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council, Institute of Food Sciences, 83100 Avellino, Italy
Interests: green extraction; polyphenols; carotenoids; antioxidant activity; biological activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, natural compounds derived from plant-based matrixes have become increasingly important for their potential applications in the field of health. However, their use has opened up new challenges in i) obtaining extracts with a high qualitative value via standardizing extraction and purification processes; ii) identifying the components of extracts through chemical characterization; and iii) delivery techniques that enable components to be stabilized over time through the use of procedures. Despite these challenges, which are under study, such extracts have a number of broad health benefits due to their additive or synergistic effects as well as multiple applications for human health.

For this Special Issue, we aim to collect scientific papers on in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies of natural plant extracts and their applications for human health. Biological and nutritional mechanisms, as well as the potential of using bioactive extracts in the prevention of diseases, will all be discussed.

Dr. Giuseppina Crescente
Dr. Stefania Moccia
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. 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

  • plant extracts
  • nutritional and health-related properties
  • food fortification
 

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5653 KiB  
Article
Immunomodulatory Mechanisms of Tea Leaf Polysaccharide in Mice with Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression Based on Gut Flora and Metabolomics
by Qiaoyi Zhou, Jinjing Gao, Xueyan Sun, Junyuan Du, Zhiyi Wu, Dongxia Liang, Caijin Ling and Binghu Fang
Foods 2024, 13(18), 2994; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13182994 - 21 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1082
Abstract
Tea polysaccharides (TPSs) are receiving increasing attention because of their diverse pharmacological and biological activities. Here, we explored the immunoregulatory mechanisms of TPSs from fresh tea leaves in a mouse model of cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppression in terms of gut microbiota and metabolites. We [...] Read more.
Tea polysaccharides (TPSs) are receiving increasing attention because of their diverse pharmacological and biological activities. Here, we explored the immunoregulatory mechanisms of TPSs from fresh tea leaves in a mouse model of cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppression in terms of gut microbiota and metabolites. We observed that TPSs significantly increased the body weight and alleviated CTX-induced thymus atrophy in the immunosuppressed mice; they also increased the plasma levels of immunoglobulins A and M, interleukin (IL) 1β, IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor α. Furthermore, we conducted 16S rDNA sequencing of cecal contents, resulting in the acquisition of 5008 high-quality bacterial 16S rDNA gene reads from the sequencing of mouse fecal samples. By analyzing the data, we found that TPSs regulated the gut microbiota structure and diversity and alleviated the CTX-induced dysregulation of gut microbiota. The colonic contents of mice were subjected to analysis using the UPLC-Q-TOF/MS/MS technique for the purpose of untargeted metabolomics. In the course of our metabolite identification analysis, we identified a total of 2685 metabolites in positive ion mode and 1655 metabolites in negative ion mode. The analysis of these metabolites indicated that TPSs improved CTX-induced metabolic disorders by regulating the levels of metabolites related to tryptophan, arginine, and proline metabolism. In conclusion, TPSs can alleviate CTX-induced immunosuppression by regulating the structural composition of gut microbiota, indicating the applicability of TPSs as novel innate immune modulators in health foods or medicines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Natural Plant Extracts to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products)
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14 pages, 1050 KiB  
Article
Development and Characterization of Symbiotic Buffalo Petit Suisse Cheese Utilizing Whey Retention and Inulin Incorporation
by Rebeca Morais, Pedro Ivo Soares, Sinthya Kelly Morais, Suelma Oriente, Amanda Nascimento, Mylena Olga Melo, Francisca Moises Sousa, Mario Cavalcanti-Mata, Hugo M. Lisboa, Rennan Pereira Gusmão and Thaisa Abrantes
Foods 2023, 12(23), 4343; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12234343 - 1 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1255
Abstract
This study presents the development and characterization of a novel buffalo Petit Suisse cheese, enhanced with symbiotic properties through an innovative whey retention method and incorporating inulin and xanthan gum. The research focused on assessing the cheese’s physicochemical properties, shelf life, lactic acid [...] Read more.
This study presents the development and characterization of a novel buffalo Petit Suisse cheese, enhanced with symbiotic properties through an innovative whey retention method and incorporating inulin and xanthan gum. The research focused on assessing the cheese’s physicochemical properties, shelf life, lactic acid bacteria viability, syneresis behavior, and the impact of varying concentrations of functional ingredients. The addition of inulin and xanthan gum, following a design of experiments, significantly influenced the cheese’s texture and consistency. Higher inulin concentrations were associated with increased fermentation activity, as indicated by total titratable acidity, which showed an increase from 1.22% to 1.50% over a 28-day period, and pH levels that decreased from 3.33 to 2.96. The syneresis index varied across trials, with the highest reduction observed in trials with increased xanthan gum concentrations, effectively reducing syneresis to 0%. Lactic acid bacteria viability also showed notable variations, with the highest cell survival percentage reaching 107.89% in formulations with higher inulin and xanthan gum concentrations. These results underscore the importance of inulin and xanthan gum in enhancing the cheese’s microbial stability and textural quality. The study concludes that the strategic use of inulin and xanthan gum improves the nutritional profile of buffalo Petit Suisse cheese and optimizes its textural and sensory attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Natural Plant Extracts to Improve the Nutritional and Health-Related Properties of Food Products)
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