Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.5
4.0
Journals
Plants
Special Issues
Nutritional Value and Phytochemical Composition of Plant Foods
share announcement

Nutritional Value and Phytochemical Composition of Plant Foods

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 1227

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dario Donno

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science, University of Torino, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
2. Chestnut R&D Center—Piemonte, Regione Gambarello 23, 12013 Chiusa di Pesio, Italy
Interests: tree crops; chestnut cultivation; secondary metabolites; quality assessment; nutraceutical properties; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Interest in the phytochemical composition and nutritional value of plant-based foods has increased due to their potential health-promoting properties. This Special Issue aims to explore and characterize the bioactive compounds and nutrients in several plant-based sources and natural food supplements, highlighting their potential roles in human health and disease prevention. The nutritional profile of plant foods includes fiber, mineral elements, micro- and macronutrients, and essential vitamins, contributing to overall well-being. Moreover, some classes of phytochemicals, such as polyphenols and carotenoids, influence the anti-cancer activity, anti-inflammatory properties, and antioxidant capacity of these foods. This Special Issue also aims to evaluate and describe the main techniques and methodologies used to extract, analyze, and quantify the nutritional substances and bioactive molecules in plant foods and natural food supplements; define innovative analytical strategies to better characterize the complex composition of these plant-based matrices; and highlight the importance of a multivariate and multidisciplinary approach to assess the health-positive effects derived from plant food consumption, particularly against diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular disorders. Insights into the impact of cooking and processing methods on nutrient and phytochemical bioavailability will also be discussed and provided.

Dr. Dario Donno
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. Plants 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

  • natural foods
  • nutritional value
  • phytochemical composition
  • plant-based food nutrients
  • antioxidants
  • analytical strategies
  • sustainable extraction methods
  • health benefits

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 (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 2794 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Oligopeptide and Free Tryptophan Release from Chickpea and Lentil Proteins: A Comparative Study of Enzymatic Modification with Bromelain, Ficin, and Papain
by Éva Domokos-Szabolcsy, Tarek Alshaal, Nevien Elhawat, Zoltán Kovács, László Kaszás, Áron Béni and Attila Kiss
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3100; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213100 - 3 Nov 2024
Viewed by 793
Abstract
Plant-based foods offer a sustainable alternative to meet the growing protein demand. Legumes are the most promising of these, as they contain relatively high concentrations of protein, low digestible starch, and dietary fiber, as well as them possibly featuring low levels of fat. [...] Read more.
Plant-based foods offer a sustainable alternative to meet the growing protein demand. Legumes are the most promising of these, as they contain relatively high concentrations of protein, low digestible starch, and dietary fiber, as well as them possibly featuring low levels of fat. Enzymatically modified legume proteins provide us with tempting perspectives in terms of enhancing foods’ biological values. However, their bioavailability and digestibility are generally less sufficient than that of proteins of animal origin, which may be improved by well-tailored enzyme modification. In this study, the efficacy of three plant-based proteases (bromelain, ficin, and papain) were evaluated at two distinct concentrations (2.5% and 10%) and three hydrolysis durations (1, 2, and 12 h) when transforming chickpea and lentil proteins. The degree of hydrolysis (DH), peptide profiles, and free amino acid content were analyzed to determine the efficiency of each enzyme. Results showed significant variations in DH, which was influenced by enzyme type, concentration, and hydrolysis duration. Papain exhibited the highest DH, particularly at a 10% concentration, reaching 27.8% efficiency in chickpea and 34.8% in lentils after 12 h. Bromelain and ficin were proven to be less effective, with ficin showing the least hydrolytic activity. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed substantial protein degradation, especially subsequent to papain treatment, pointing out that most proteins were cleaved into smaller peptides. SEC-HPLC indicated a predominant release of peptides within the 200–1000 Da range, suggesting enhanced bioavailability. Papain and bromelain treatments resulted in a significant release of oligopeptides and dipeptides. UHPLC analysis highlighted a marked post-hydrolysis increase in total free amino acids, with arginine, leucine, and lysine being the most abundant ones. Notably, tryptophan, being undetectable in untreated samples, was released in measurable amounts post-hydrolysis. These findings demonstrate papain’s superior performance in protein hydrolysis and its potential in producing bioactive peptides, highlighting its applicability in food processing and the development of both nutraceuticals and functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Value and Phytochemical Composition of Plant Foods)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop