About this Research Topic
Fruit, cereal, and legume flour contain both carbohydrate and protein polymers conferring advantageous benefits to the body. Carbohydrates and proteins are natural biopolymers with abundant sources and the assembly of protein-polysaccharide complexes may have the potential to construct economically viable delivery systems with high biocompatibility and biosafety. It can thus be expected that the assembly of protein-polysaccharide complexes can be tailored for specific applications in the delivery of bioactive ingredients.
In various plant foods, polyphenols are often coexisting with polysaccharides. In such a system, the involved polysaccharides exert heavy impacts on the extractability and bioactivity of the polyphenols due largely to the covalent or non-covalent interactions happening between them. Biopolymers and their interactions such as protein-polysaccharide complexation may enhance the stability of delivery systems which facilitate efficient encapsulation, protection and release of bioactive compounds. The expected health efficacy of biopolymers depends on the crucial aspect of bioaccessibility and bioavailability, all defined during the digestion process.
Depending on the environmental conditions of ionic strength, temperature and pH, dietary fibers associate with polyphenols, thus providing a sort of control mechanism for the bioaccessibility of polyphenols in the digestive tracts. Digestibility—which describes the amount of nutrient ingested by an organism in proportion to the consumed amount—depends on factors such as nutrient composition, pre-processing and antinutritional factors such as tannins. The biopolymers in fruits, cereal grains, and legumes undergo several extraction processes for utilization in the body and valorization in industrial processes. However, the application of these extracted biopolymers as antioxidants in the human system is yet to be fully explored. Similarly, their mechanisms of bioaccessibility, bioavailability and digestibility as well as bioactive and inhibitory properties in human health need to be further studied to effectively demonstrate their roles and contributions in nutrition and health.
Contributions in the form of brief research report, mini review, original research and review are welcome to be submitted to this Research Topic. The scope and specific topics include but are not limited to:
• Antioxidant activities of extracted biopolymers from cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour;
• Biodigestibility (in vitro, in vivo) of cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour biopolymers;
• Bioactive properties of cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour biopolymers;
• Inhibitory effects and health-promoting properties of biopolymers from cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour.
In various plant foods, polyphenols are often coexisting with polysaccharides. In such a system, the involved polysaccharides exert heavy impacts on the extractability and bioactivity of the polyphenols due largely to the covalent or non-covalent interactions happening between them. Biopolymers and their interactions such as protein-polysaccharide complexation may enhance the stability of delivery systems which facilitate efficient encapsulation, protection and release of bioactive compounds. The expected health efficacy of biopolymers depends on the crucial aspect of bioaccessibility and bioavailability, all defined during the digestion process.
Depending on the environmental conditions of ionic strength, temperature and pH, dietary fibers associate with polyphenols, thus providing a sort of control mechanism for the bioaccessibility of polyphenols in the digestive tracts. Digestibility—which describes the amount of nutrient ingested by an organism in proportion to the consumed amount—depends on factors such as nutrient composition, pre-processing and antinutritional factors such as tannins. The biopolymers in fruits, cereal grains, and legumes undergo several extraction processes for utilization in the body and valorization in industrial processes. However, the application of these extracted biopolymers as antioxidants in the human system is yet to be fully explored. Similarly, their mechanisms of bioaccessibility, bioavailability and digestibility as well as bioactive and inhibitory properties in human health need to be further studied to effectively demonstrate their roles and contributions in nutrition and health.
Contributions in the form of brief research report, mini review, original research and review are welcome to be submitted to this Research Topic. The scope and specific topics include but are not limited to:
• Antioxidant activities of extracted biopolymers from cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour;
• Biodigestibility (in vitro, in vivo) of cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour biopolymers;
• Bioactive properties of cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour biopolymers;
• Inhibitory effects and health-promoting properties of biopolymers from cereal grains, legumes and fruit flour.
Keywords: proteins, protein-polysaccharide complexes, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, digestibility, fruit flour, legume flour, cereal flour, starch
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