Yasmina Sultanbawa
Dharini Sivakumar
Michele Iskandar- 1Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences ARC Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- 2Phytochemical Food Network Research Group, Department of Crop Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
- 3School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
Editorial on the Research Topic
Women in food chemistry
In this Research Topic of Frontiers in Nutrition, we are pleased to present the introductory collection of articles on “Women in food chemistry.” The importance of science and gender equality is emphasized by UNESCO. To change cultural norms, a gender-equal society must be fostered, stigmas eliminated, and STEM careers should be encouraged for women and girls. This platform is therefore an excellent way to promote the work of women scientists across all fields of nutrition at Frontiers in Nutrition. The research presented here illustrates the diversity of research performed across the spectrum of Nutrition and Food Chemistry. This Research Topic included one review article and three research articles. The first author or last authors of the publications are women researchers.
Shoko et al. investigated the functional compounds, volatiles, and antioxidant properties of coriander leaves (Coriandrum sativum) stored under different light conditions during postharvest storage. The use of LED light as a post-harvest treatment improved the antioxidant properties and retained the acceptable aroma profiles of coriander leaves. Further, cold storage of coriander leaves in PET punnets exposed to blue LED light extended its storage life to 9 days. These findings indicate that this technology could be applied to supermarket storage and retail display shelves.
Additionally, Phan et al. investigated Kakadu plum's (Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell) (Kakadu plum) physicochemical properties, hydrolysable tannins, and antioxidant capacity. The Kakadu plum is a native Australian fruit that is wild harvested, and little is known about how maturity influences its phytonutritional properties and bioactivity. The total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and sugars increased during the fruit development from highly immature (< 25% degree of fruit fullness) to fully mature stages (75–100% degree of fruit fullness), whereas phenolic compounds, including major hydrolysable tannins, decreased with fruit ripeness. Such a study can assist indigenous enterprises, the food industry and other industries in selecting the best maturation stages for using Kakadu plum as a functional food ingredient.
An investigation of the fortification and bioavailability of saffron apocarotenoids in potato tubers was carried out by Gómez et al.. As a consequence of their metabolic, physiological, and ecological properties, apocarotenoids are becoming increasingly popular. In response to the enzymatic or reactive oxygen species-induced cleavage of carotenoids, apocarotenoids are produced. Two saffron apocarotenoids, crocins and picrocrocin, are high-value pigments used in food, feed, and pharmaceuticals. Crocins and picrocrocin are produced in potato tubers through the expression of a unique construct of genes responsible for the biosynthesis of saffron apocarotenoids. Crocins and picrocrocin have high bioaccessibility, and potatoes can accumulate them, thereby providing consumers with a greater range of health benefits.
Granado-Rodríguez et al. reported on quinoa seeds and the nutritional and quality changes that occur under different storage conditions. This article is important in the context of climate change as it has an impact on global food security in reference to long-term food availability and next-season seed preservation. To retain the nutritional quality, it is recommended to store the seed at low storage temperatures (4°C) and use hermetic bags to maintain the seed moisture content lower than 12%, which will increase the economic value as well as the seed viability.
Author contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Keywords: gender-equity, phytonutrients, plant foods, STEM fields, nutrition
Citation: Sultanbawa Y, Sivakumar D and Iskandar M (2023) Editorial: Women in food chemistry. Front. Nutr. 10:1227558. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1227558
Received: 23 May 2023; Accepted: 26 June 2023;
Published: 04 July 2023.
Edited by:
Charalampos Proestos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, GreeceReviewed by:
Haşim Kelebek, Adana Science and Technology University, TürkiyeCopyright © 2023 Sultanbawa, Sivakumar and Iskandar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Michele Iskandar, michele.iskandar@mcgill.ca; Dharini Sivakumar, SivakumarD@tut.ac.za; Yasmina Sultanbawa, y.sultanbawa@uq.edu.au