Natural Bioactives Used as Additives in Food Applications

Natural products have been used since ancient times to enhance food attributes. Plants are added to foodstuff for their aromatic features, but also for preserving and coloring purposes. On the other hand, plants have also been playing an important role in fighting health issues, mostly due to their richness in secondary metabolites. These compounds are known for being bioactive, mainly acting as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, among other specific actions, and responsible for plants flavor, aroma, and pigmentation. For these reasons, recent studies have been focusing the valorization of bio-based extracts and compounds as potential food additives. Moreover, efforts have been made to recover bioresidues and by-products from food industry to extract such compounds and contribute to a circular economy.

Given the importance of the different classes of additives in food industry, their use has increased worldwide, most of them being of artificial origin. In order to overcome safety issues and prioritize natural sources, bio-based additives have been attracting the attention of the scientific community and industry, aiming at meeting consumers’ expectations. As such, natural extracts and compounds have been intensively explored in recent years, and a special attention is needed on the sustainability of the applied processes and solvents. Innovative technologies are necessary to reduce the time, costs, and losses of the processes, and to increase the extraction yield and extracts quality. On the other hand, the application of promising green solvents is of crucial importance, as well as the recovery of by-products from food industry to extract the desired compounds, valorizing industry waste and minimizing the use of plant material that could find other applications on the production chain.

Authors are cordially invited to contribute with original research articles and reviews addressing the application of natural extracts and compounds or bio-based formulations to enhance food attributes. As such, these may cover the development of bioactive, functional, coloring, preservative, or aromatizing food additives through sustainable processes. It will also consider the recovery of bioresidues and by-products from food industry for the extraction of compounds of interest. Critical and objective perspectives concerning the extraction, purification, stabilization, or application of bio-based additives are also strongly encouraged. This Research Topic aims to gather the most recent advances in natural ingredients and sustainable processes with high potential of application in food industry.