Innovations in Food Digestion and Fermentation Strategies

The digestion and fermentation of foods play critical roles in determining their nutritional quality and subsequent health benefits. The bioaccessibility and bioavailability of natural compounds, pivotal for their biological effects in the body, are influenced by numerous factors including the food matrix composition, structure, processing techniques, and interactions with the human gastrointestinal tract, microbiota, and liver metabolism. Despite advancements, the bioaccessibility of many compounds remains low, and the metabolic pathways and mechanisms underlying their biological activities are often not fully understood. This gap highlights the need for more comprehensive research to optimize food processing and digestion strategies to enhance nutrient uptake and overall health impacts.

This Research Topic aims to explore innovative food digestion and fermentation strategies that enhance the bioaccessibility and effectiveness of natural bioactive compounds. Through incorporating cutting-edge technologies and novel methodologies, such as enzyme and probiotic supplementation, application of High-Pressure Processing (HPP) and Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF), and utilisation of nanotechnology for targeted delivery, this Topic seeks to address how these advances can significantly improve health outcomes by enhancing the nutritional quality of foods.

To gather further insights into these innovations, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- The development and implementation of new enzymes and probiotics for improved food matrix digestion.

- The impact of novel processing technologies like HPP and PEF on nutrient bioaccessibility and microbial safety.

- Utilization of nanotechnology and encapsulation to target and preserve beneficial compounds within the gastrointestinal tract.

- Exploration of unconventional food sources (e.g., insects, algae, fungi) for use in digestion and fermentation processes.

- Connection between diet, gut microbiota compositions, and health outcomes in various populations.

- Creation and validation of dynamic models replicating human digestive and fermentative conditions in vitro.

Acceptable types of submissions include original research, systematic reviews, debates, editorial perspectives, and commentaries.

Keywords: food digestion, food matrix, natural bioactive compound, food fermentation, food components, biotechnology, nanotechnology, novel food sources, gut microbiota, human health, functional foods

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.