Submit to Foods Review for Foods Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Omics Technologies in Food Science

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2022) | Viewed by 37637

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special issue Omics Technologies in Food Science book cover image

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yelko Rodríguez-Carrasco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Research Group in Alternative Methods for Determining Toxic Effects and Risk Assessment of Contaminants and Mixtures (RiskTox), Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Universitat de València, Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, Burjassot, 46100 València, Spain
Interests: toxin; toxicity; contaminant detection; risk assessment; chromatography; spectrometry; mass spectrometry; analytical chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Bojan Šarkanj

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Department of Food Technology, University Center Koprivnica, University North, Trg dr. Žarka Dolinara 1, 48000 Koprivnica, Croatia
Interests: analytical chemistry; LC-MS/MS; mycology; mycotoxins; biomarkers; exposure assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food science has greatly developed in the last years. This has led to an increasing attention towards the origin and quality of raw materials as well as their derived food products. The endless advance in molecular biology has allowed the implementation of efficient and universal omics tools to unequivocally identify the origin of food items and their traceability. This Special Issue invites both research and review papers in the field of omics and multi-omics for food science applications. This Issue involves aspects like food safety and food quality as well as new technologies including metabolomics, metagenomics, nutrigenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Obtaining and discussing new information is an important step towards the continuous research in the area of food science.

Prof. Dr. Yelko Rodríguez-Carrasco
Guest Editor
Prof. Bojan Šarkanj
Co-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

food safety
food quality
food science
metabolomic
transcriptomic
proteomic
genomic
foodomic
bioinformatics
chemometrics

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (10 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 200 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Foodomics: Current and Future Perspectives in Food Analysis

by Yelko Rodríguez-Carrasco

Foods 2022, 11(9), 1238; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11091238 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2426

Abstract

Climate change, an increase in population, and the recent pandemic crisis triggered by SARS-CoV-2 have all contributed to a period of global problems [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

15 pages, 1050 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Phenolic Extract from Red Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on T-2 Toxin-Induced Cytotoxicity in HepG2 Cells

by Carmen Martínez-Alonso, Mercedes Taroncher, Luigi Castaldo, Luana Izzo, Yelko Rodríguez-Carrasco, Alberto Ritieni and María-José Ruiz

Foods 2022, 11(7), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11071033 - 2 Apr 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3589

Abstract

Red beans contain human bioactive compounds such as polyphenols. Several in vitro studies have proposed the natural compounds as an innovative strategy to modify the toxic effects produced by mycotoxins. Hence, in this work, a complete investigation of the polyphenolic fraction of red beans was performed using a Q-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis. Notably, epicatechin and delphinidin were the most detected polyphenols found in red bean extracts (3.297 and 3.108 mg/Kg, respectively). Moreover, the red bean extract was evaluated against the T-2 toxin (T-2) induced cytotoxicity in hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2) by direct treatment, simultaneous treatment, and pre-treatment assays. These data showed that T-2 affected the cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, as well as observing a cytotoxic effect and a significant increase in ROS production at 30 nM. The simultaneous treatment and the pre-treatment of HepG2 cells with red bean extract was not able to modify the cytotoxic T-2 effect. However, the simultaneous treatment of T-2 at 7.5 nM with the red bean extract showed a significant decrease in ROS production, with respect to the control. These results suggest that the red bean extract could modulate oxidative stress on HepG2 cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1864 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Nutritional Diversity among Three Staple Crops and Three Fruits

by Yunxia Shi, Yanxiu Guo, Yuhui Wang, Mingyang Li, Kang Li, Xianqing Liu, Chuanying Fang and Jie Luo

Foods 2022, 11(4), 550; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11040550 - 15 Feb 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3519

Abstract

More than 2 billion people worldwide are under threat of nutritional deficiency. Thus, an in-depth comprehension of the nutritional composition of staple crops and popular fruits is essential for health. Herein, we performed LC-MS-based non-targeted and targeted metabolome analyses with crops (including wheat, rice, and corn) and fruits (including grape, banana, and mango). We detected a total of 2631 compounds by using non-targeted strategy and identified more than 260 nutrients. Our work discovered species-dependent accumulation of common present nutrients in crops and fruits. Although rice and wheat lack vitamins and amino acids, sweet corn was rich in most amino acids and vitamins. Among the three fruits, mango had more vitamins and amino acids than grape and banana. Grape and banana provided sufficient 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and vitamin B6, respectively. Moreover, rice and grape had a high content of flavonoids. In addition, the three crops contained more lipids than fruits. Furthermore, we also identified species-specific metabolites. The crops yielded 11 specific metabolites, including flavonoids, lipids, and others. Meanwhile, most fruit-specific nutrients were flavonoids. Our work discovered the complementary pattern of essential nutrients in crops and fruits, which provides metabolomic evidence for a healthy diet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 4634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Metabolomics and Volatolomics for Comparative Evaluation of Fermented Soy Products

by Sang-Hee Lee, Sunmin Lee, Seung-Hwa Lee, Hae-Jin Kim, Digar Singh and Choong-Hwan Lee

Foods 2021, 10(11), 2516; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10112516 - 20 Oct 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2965

Abstract

Though varying metabolomes are believed to influence distinctive characteristics of different soy foods, an in-depth, comprehensive analysis of both soluble and volatile metabolites is largely unreported. The metabolite profiles of different soy products, including cheonggukjang, meju, doenjang, and raw soybean, were characterized using LC-MS (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry), GC-MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry), and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the datasets for the cheonggukjang, meju, and doenjang extracts were distinguished from the non-fermented soybean across PC1, while those for cheonggukjang and doenjang were separated across PC2. Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles were clearly distinct among doenjang and soybean, cheonggukjang, and meju samples. Notably, the relative contents of the isoflavone glycosides and DDMP (2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one) conjugated soyasaponins were higher in soybean and cheonggukjang, compared to doenjang, while the isoflavone aglycones, non-DDMP conjugated soyasaponins, and amino acids were significantly higher in doenjang. Most VOCs, including the sulfur containing compounds aldehydes, esters, and furans, were relatively abundant in doenjang. However, pyrazines, 3-methylbutanoic acid, maltol, and methoxyphenol were higher in cheonggukjang, which contributed to the characteristic aroma of soy foods. We believe that this study provides the fundamental insights on soy food metabolomes, which determine their nutritional, functional, organoleptic, and aroma characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metabolite–Flavor Profile, Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity Changes in Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) Seeds during Germination

by Kannika Keawkim, Yaowapa Lorjaroenphon, Kanithaporn Vangnai and Kriskamol Na Jom

Foods 2021, 10(10), 2476; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10102476 - 16 Oct 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6428

Abstract

Sacha inchi seeds are abundant in nutrients such as linolenic acids and amino acids. Germination can further enhance their nutritional and medicinal value; however, germination time is positively correlated with off-flavor in germinated seeds. This study investigated the changes in the metabolite and flavor profiles and evaluated the nutritional quality of sacha inchi seeds 8 days after germination (DAG). We also determined their phenolic content and antioxidant activity. We used gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and identified 63 metabolites, including 18 fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). FAMEs had the highest concentration in ungerminated seeds, especially palmitic, stearic, linoleic, linolenic, and oleic acids. Amino acids, total phenolic compounds (TPCs), and antioxidant activity associated with health benefits increased with germination time. At the final germination stage, oxidation products were observed, which are associated with green, beany, and grassy odors and rancid and off-flavors. Germination is a valuable processing step to enhance the nutritional quality of sacha inchi seeds. These 6DAG or 8DAG seeds may be an alternative source of high-value-added compounds used in plant-protein-based products and isolated protein. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3790 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determination of the Personal Nutritional Status of Elderly Populations Based on Basic Foodomics Elements

by Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Melita Sajko, David Vitez and Ivana Živoder

Foods 2021, 10(10), 2391; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10102391 - 9 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2724

Abstract

Nutritional status is a series of related parameters collected using different available methods. In order to determine the nutritional status of elderly populations and ensure nutritional support based on an individual approach, the implementation of the increasingly used foodomics approach is available; this approach plays a key role in personalized diets and in the optimization of diets for a population group, such as an elderly population. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) method and the Nottingham Screening Tool (NST) form were used on 50 users in a home for the elderly in northwest Croatia. A loss of body mass (BM) was statistically significantly higher for those who had the following: decreased food intake in the last week and users who had complete and partial feeding autonomy. Additionally, the obtained data on drug intake, fluid, individual nutrients, and physical activity are based on an individual approach. The available documentation provides insight into nutritional values and food preparation in an attempt to satisfy a holistic approach in the evaluation of exposure while trying to achieve as many elements of foodomics as possible. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 1863 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screening of Regulated and Emerging Mycotoxins in Bulk Milk Samples by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

by Gabriele Rocchetti, Francesca Ghilardelli, Francesco Masoero and Antonio Gallo

Foods 2021, 10(9), 2025; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10092025 - 28 Aug 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2630

Abstract

In this work, a retrospective screening based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) based on Orbitrap-Q-Exactive Focus™ was used to check the occurrence of regulated and emerging mycotoxins in bulk milk samples. Milk samples were collected from dairy farms in which corn silage was the main ingredient of the feeding system. The 45 bulk milk samples were previously analyzed for a detailed untargeted metabolomic profiling and classified into five clusters according to the corn silage contamination profile, namely: (1) low levels of Aspergillus- and Penicillium-mycotoxins; (2) low levels of fumonisins and other Fusarium-mycotoxins; (3) high levels of Aspergillus-mycotoxins; (4) high levels of non-regulated Fusarium-mycotoxins; (5) high levels of fumonisins and their metabolites. Multivariate statistics based on both unsupervised and supervised analyses were used to evaluate the significant fold-change variations of the main groups of mycotoxins detected when comparing milk samples from clusters 3, 4, and 5 (high contamination levels of the corn silages) with cluster 1 and 2 (low contamination levels of the corn silages). Overall, 14 compounds showed a significant prediction ability, with antibiotic Y (VIP score = 2.579), bikaverin (VIP score = 1.975) and fumonisin B2 (VIP score = 1.846) being the best markers. The k-means clustering combined with supervised statistics showed two discriminant groups of milk samples, thus revealing a hierarchically higher impact of the whole feeding system (rather than the only corn silages) together with other factors of variability on the final mycotoxin contamination profile. Among the discriminant metabolites we found some Fusarium mycotoxins, together with the tetrapeptide tentoxin (an Alternaria toxin), the α-zearalenol (a catabolite of zearalenone), mycophenolic acid and apicidin. These preliminary findings provide new insights into the potential role of UHPLC-HRMS to evaluate the contamination profile and the safety of raw milk to produce hard cheese. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 5042 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Small RNAs, Degradome, and Transcriptome Sequencing Provide Insights into Papaya Fruit Ripening Regulated by 1-MCP

by Jiahui Cai, Ziling Wu, Yanwei Hao, Yuanlong Liu, Zunyang Song, Weixin Chen, Xueping Li and Xiaoyang Zhu

Foods 2021, 10(7), 1643; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071643 - 15 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2769

Abstract

As an inhibitor of ethylene receptors, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) can delay the ripening of papaya. However, improper 1-MCP treatment will cause a rubbery texture in papaya. Understanding of the underlying mechanism is still lacking. In the present work, a comparative sRNA analysis was conducted after different 1-MCP treatments and identified a total of 213 miRNAs, of which 44 were known miRNAs and 169 were novel miRNAs in papaya. Comprehensive functional enrichment analysis indicated that plant hormone signal pathways play an important role in fruit ripening. Through the comparative analysis of sRNAs and transcriptome sequencing, a total of 11 miRNAs and 12 target genes were associated with the ethylene and auxin signaling pathways. A total of 1741 target genes of miRNAs were identified by degradome sequencing, and nine miRNAs and eight miRNAs were differentially expressed under the ethylene and auxin signaling pathways, respectively. The network regulation diagram of miRNAs and target genes during fruit ripening was drawn. The expression of 11 miRNAs and 12 target genes was verified by RT-qPCR. The target gene verification showed that cpa-miR390a and cpa-miR396 target CpARF19-like and CpERF RAP2-12-like, respectively, affecting the ethylene and auxin signaling pathways and, therefore, papaya ripening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2413 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptomic Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Response to Pine Honey via RNA Sequencing Indicates Multiple Mechanisms of Antibacterial Activity

by Ioannis Kafantaris, Christina Tsadila, Marios Nikolaidis, Eleni Tsavea, Tilemachos G. Dimitriou, Ioannis Iliopoulos, Grigoris D. Amoutzias and Dimitris Mossialos

Foods 2021, 10(5), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10050936 - 24 Apr 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3957

Abstract

Pine honey is a unique type of honeydew honey produced exclusively in Eastern Mediterranean countries like Greece and Turkey. Although the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of pine honey are well documented, few studies have investigated so far its antibacterial activity. This study investigates the antibacterial effects of pine honey against P. aeruginosa PA14 at the molecular level using a global transcriptome approach via RNA-sequencing. Pine honey treatment was applied at sub-inhibitory concentration and short exposure time (0.5× of minimum inhibitory concentration –MIC- for 45 min). Pine honey induced the differential expression (>two-fold change and p ≤ 0.05) of 463 genes, with 274 of them being down-regulated and 189 being up-regulated. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that pine honey affected a wide range of biological processes (BP). The most affected down-regulated BP GO terms were oxidation-reduction process, transmembrane transport, proteolysis, signal transduction, biosynthetic process, phenazine biosynthetic process, bacterial chemotaxis, and antibiotic biosynthetic process. The up-regulated BP terms, affected by pine honey treatment, were those related to the regulation of DNA-templated transcription, siderophore transport, and phosphorylation. Pathway analysis revealed that pine honey treatment significantly affected two-component regulatory systems, ABC transporter systems, quorum sensing, bacterial chemotaxis, biofilm formation and SOS response. These data collectively indicate that multiple mechanisms of action are implicated in antibacterial activity exerted by pine honey against P. aeruginosa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 2314 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilizing Pork Exudate Metabolomics to Reveal the Impact of Aging on Meat Quality

by Qianqian Yu, Bruce Cooper, Tiago Sobreira and Yuan H. Brad Kim

Foods 2021, 10(3), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030668 - 20 Mar 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4330

Abstract

This study was performed to assess the changes in meat quality and metabolome profiles of meat exudate during postmortem aging. At 24 h postmortem, longissimus lumborum muscles were collected from 10 pork carcasses, cut into three sections, and randomly assigned to three aging period groups (2, 9, and 16 d). Meat quality and chemical analyses, along with the metabolomics of meat exudates using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) platform, were conducted. Results indicated a declined (p < 0.05) display color stability, and increased (p < 0.05) purge loss, meat tenderness, and lipid oxidation as aging extended. The principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis exhibited distinct clusters of the exudate metabolome of each aging treatment. A total of 39 significantly changed features were tentatively identified via matching them to METLIN database according to their MS/MS information. Some of those features are associated with adenosine triphosphate metabolism (creatine and hypoxanthine), antioxidation (oxidized glutathione and carnosine), and proteolysis (dipeptides and tripeptides). The findings provide valuable information that reflects the meat quality’s attributes and could be used as a source of potential biomarkers for predicting aging times and meat quality changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Omics Technologies in Food Science)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Omics Technologies in Food Science

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (10 papers)

Editorial

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI