About this Research Topic

Background

Nowadays, there is an increased interest in foods with added nutritional value. Plants in particular are of great and significant research interest, representing an inexhaustible source of benefits and beneficial bioactive substances as many studies focus on the effort to include ingredients with beneficial effects on human health provoked by the need to reformulate preferred, but unhealthier foods. However, modern dietary trends, lifestyles of modern people, and still potential risks challenge researchers to prove benefits and safety and convince consumers.

Plant-based diets have been extensively studied throughout the years. They are widely associated with a reduced risk of noncommunicable diseases and early mortality. Some attribute their rapid spread to the sustainability of the food production system, and the welfare of animals. Whatever the primary reason, plant-based diets continue to grow in popularity. Plant-based ingredients in foods are seen as a trending direction of sustainable food production, especially linked to incorporating natural raw ingredients and foods with added nutritional value. Therefore, bioactivity is always of interest and has sparked scientific interest in the search for new phytocomponents and new application possibilities.

In order to follow the modern concept of healthy food and diet, the main goal of the topic is to gather current results and opinions about using plant bioactivity in food science to obtain enriched food products. Plant-based food is the main source of several important nutrients as well as secondary metabolites which can express biological activity and improve our health status. Besides, some compounds with undesirable or contradictory effects are also present in plants demanding the monitoring of their effects in the human body. In that sense, different analytical methods for the determination and investigation of biological activity can be applied. Authors are encouraged to participate with all novel data as well with reviewing current knowledge and future perspectives in order to promote and obtain plant-based food enriched with different bioactive compounds.

Authors are encouraged to submit different types (Original Research, Perspectives, Mini Reviews, Commentaries, and Opinion papers) related to the following themes:
- Biological active compounds of plant origin and their biological potential - new compounds, phenolics, carotenoids, phenolamines, etc.;
- Antinutrients, phytotoxins;
- Prevention of oxidation, shelf-life prolongation, etc. by which processing improves the bioaccessibility, bioavailability, or activity of food bioactive ingredients like phenolics and carotenoids;
- Bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and conversion and modification of plants compounds

Keywords: Bioactive compounds, Biological activity, Plant-based food, Analytical chemistry, Nutrients, Antinutrients, Functional foods with plant extracts, Prebiotics, Dietary fibers

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