Traditional, Functional and Novel Fruit Beverages: Cultivation, Processing and Consumption

A special issue of Beverages (ISSN 2306-5710). This special issue belongs to the section "Quality, Nutrition, and Chemistry of Beverages".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 August 2024 | Viewed by 3252

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Interests: food analysis; bioactive compounds; antioxidants; polyphenols analysis; functional foods; dietary supplements; quality control; HPLC–MS and GC–MS analysis; biophenols in olive oils; fatty acids
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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), Viale delle Scienze Bldg. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: fruit quality; tropical horticulture; fruit postharvest
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Bldg. 5, Ent. C, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: lactic acid bacteria; volatile organic compounds; in vitro digestion; organoleptic properties; wine aroma; antibacterial activity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Current awareness about the benefits of a balanced diet supports the trends in humans towards a healthier diet. Vegetables, fruits, and vegetable/fruit by-products are good sources to extract bioactive compounds for producing nutraceuticals and functional foods displaying a positive impact on environmental, economic, and social sectors.

Based on consumer demand and the potential of innovation and health benefits, we believe that new functional beverages will be launched in the recent future.

The future of functional beverages depends on the unequivocal demonstration of their efficacy in promoting health. For this reason, key points to design a new generation of functional beverages could be (a) the identification and quantification of promising bioactive compounds; (b) the application of natural preservatives, to improve the image of the naturalness of the functional beverages; (c) the standardization of bioactive compounds; (d) the selection of starters able to produce bioactive compounds; (e) the establishment of proper dosage and delivery systems; (f) the investigation of bioavailability and metabolism of functional ingredients; (g) the study of safety aspects related to functional beverage consumption; (h) the relationship with pre-harvest factors; (i) the formulation of value-added products based on traditional fermented beverages; and (j) the stability of the products.

This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of fruits and by-products as sources of bioactive compounds for the production of functional beverages with particular attention to extraction techniques, cultivation, processing and consumption.

Dr. Vita Di Stefano
Dr. Vittorio Farina
Dr. Nicola Francesca
Guest Editors

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. Beverages is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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

  • nutritional improver
  • food functionality
  • enriched beverages
  • nutritional claim
  • agrifood by-products
  • bioactive compounds
  • fermented beverages
  • nanotechnology
  • functional ingredients
  • functional beverage consumption

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 5080 KiB  
Article
Preventive and Therapeutic Efficacy of Roselle Beverage Residue in Late-Stage Type 2 Diabetic Rats
by Evelyn Regalado-Rentería, Jesús E. Serna-Tenorio, David G. García-Gutiérrez, Rosalía Reynoso-Camacho, Olga P. García, Miriam A. Anaya-Loyola and Iza F. Pérez-Ramírez
Beverages 2024, 10(2), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages10020040 - 24 May 2024
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Abstract
The residue from roselle beverage production is rich in polyphenols and dietary fiber. We investigated its potential as a preventive and therapeutic agent for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat high-fructose diet (HFFD) for 17 weeks, reaching [...] Read more.
The residue from roselle beverage production is rich in polyphenols and dietary fiber. We investigated its potential as a preventive and therapeutic agent for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat high-fructose diet (HFFD) for 17 weeks, reaching insulin resistance by week 9, and induced to T2DM with streptozotocin (STZ) at week 13. Roselle beverage residue (RBR) was administered ad libitum mixed at 6% with the HFFD. Rats received HFFD+RBR as a preventive strategy starting at week 1 (healthy) and week 9 (insulin resistant), whereas the treatment strategy in T2DM rats started at week 14 alone or in combination with metformin (200 mg/kg/day), with a control metformin-treated group. All RBR-supplemented groups showed reduced serum glucose levels (1.4-fold to 1.8-fold) compared with the HFFD+STZ control group. Preventive RBR administration enhanced pancreatic function, leading to improved insulin sensitivity (6.5-fold to 7.9-fold). Gene expression analysis identified slight alterations in hepatic and skeletal muscle glucose metabolism. Additionally, RBR supplementation demonstrated a preventive role in mitigating hyperuricemia (2.1-fold to 2.2-fold), with no effect on glomerular hyperfiltration. While the exact mechanisms underlying RBR effects remain to be fully elucidated, our findings highlight its promising potential as a dietary supplement for preventing and treating T2DM. Full article
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15 pages, 2014 KiB  
Article
Strawberry Post-Harvest Anthocyanin Development to Improve the Colour Stability of Strawberry Nectars
by Helen Murray, Fabio Stipkovits, Jasmin Wühl, Heidrun Halbwirth and Manfred Gössinger
Beverages 2024, 10(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages10020036 - 16 May 2024
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Abstract
Strawberry nectars have increased colour stability when produced from overripe, darker, and redder strawberries, with a high anthocyanin concentration. The post-harvest storage of strawberries has been shown to develop these properties. Nectars are frequently produced from strawberries rejected for fresh sale due to [...] Read more.
Strawberry nectars have increased colour stability when produced from overripe, darker, and redder strawberries, with a high anthocyanin concentration. The post-harvest storage of strawberries has been shown to develop these properties. Nectars are frequently produced from strawberries rejected for fresh sale due to poor colour, which are insufficiently ripe to produce colour-stable nectars. This study investigated post-harvest anthocyanin development in strawberries to improve the colour and colour stability of nectars, which is the first time these developments were studied for beverage production. Strawberries at five ripeness stages were stored at 20 °C for 1 and 2 days prior to nectar production. The anthocyanin content of nectars was determined by a pH-differential method, and the colour stability was tracked for 12 weeks using a consumer Acceptance Factor, derived from CIELAB colour components. The anthocyanin content and colour stability were highly correlated, and both were dependent on ripening, with larger increases observed in under-ripe strawberries, and small to no improvement in overripe samples. Stored partially coloured strawberries produced nectars with equivalent colour stability to non-stored strawberries of normal ripeness. This allowed strawberries that were previously unsuitable for both fresh sale and nectar production to be used as a feedstock for nectar production, reducing food waste. Full article
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16 pages, 2082 KiB  
Article
Insight into Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant and Anti-Diabetic Properties of Rosehip (Rosa canina L.)-Based Tisanes with Addition of Hibiscus Flowers (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) and Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)
by Dušan Vasić, Jelena S. Katanić Stanković, Tijana Urošević, Maja Kozarski, Nenad Naumovski, Haroon Khan and Jelena Popović-Djordjević
Beverages 2024, 10(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages10010001 - 20 Dec 2023
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Abstract
Tisane is a fruit or herbal infusion, commonly referred to as herbal tea. These products are consumed as part of a balanced diet, which is closely related to the trend of a healthier lifestyle. In this work, tisanes prepared from rosehip (R), and [...] Read more.
Tisane is a fruit or herbal infusion, commonly referred to as herbal tea. These products are consumed as part of a balanced diet, which is closely related to the trend of a healthier lifestyle. In this work, tisanes prepared from rosehip (R), and herbal mixtures containing rosehip/hibiscus flowers (R/H) and rosehip/hibiscus flowers/saffron (R/H/S) were studied. Rosehip was dried by the convective drying method at 40, 50 and 60 °C. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total flavonol content (TFlC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), antioxidant properties (DPPH and ABTS∙+ assays) and in vitro inhibitory potential toward α-amylase of tisanes were examined. The highest TPC (based on dry weight (dw)) was measured in tisane obtained from rosehip dried at 60 °C (37.84 mg GAE/g dw). Tisanes prepared from a R/H/S mixture had the highest values of TFC (4.66–6.13 mg QUE/g dw), TFlC (2.67–3.98 mg QUE/g dw) and TAC (1.35–2.27 mg Cy 3-glc/g dw). The highest DPPH scavenging activity (53.42 mg TE/g dw) was measured in rosehip (dried at 60 °C) tisane, whereas tisane prepared from a rosehip (dried at 60 °C)/hibiscus mixture expressed the best ABTS∙+ scavenging activity (107.44 mg TE/g dw). All tisane samples expressed high inhibitory potential toward α-amylase, with the highest activity of 85.03% and 89.90%, measured for tisanes prepared from rosehip/hibiscus flowers mixture (rosehip dried at 50 and 60 °C, respectively). Full article
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