Marine Bioactive Compounds: From Sustainable Sources to Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

Marine biotechnology has rapidly emerged as a dynamic field exploring the vast potential of ocean resources to meet growing demands for health-promoting foods and supplements. Rich in biodiversity, marine environments yield an impressive array of bioactive compounds with evidence-based benefits, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and metabolic regulatory properties. Despite these promising attributes, challenges persist in sustainably sourcing marine materials, optimizing the extraction of active ingredients, and efficiently applying them to food and nutraceutical development. Current research highlights innovative extraction and valorization strategies, novel delivery systems, and the increasing use of underutilized marine biomass. Nonetheless, issues surrounding scalability, environmental impacts, efficacy, and consumer acceptance remain, leaving significant questions about how best to integrate marine bioactives into sustainable food systems. This Research Topic aims to bring together the latest advances and emerging trends in the sustainable acquisition, processing, and functional deployment of marine bioactive compounds within the food and nutraceutical sectors. Central objectives include elucidating effective extraction methods for diverse marine organisms and by-products, evaluating new applications in functional foods and dietary supplements, and addressing the stabilization, bioavailability, and efficient delivery of these bioactives. This Research Topic invites original research articles, reviews, and methodological advancements focusing on the journey of marine bioactive compounds from raw marine sources to innovative applications in human nutrition. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following themes: - Extraction and purification of bioactive compounds from marine resources and by-products - Characterization, mechanisms, and biological activities of marine bioactive molecules - Utilization and upcycling of marine biomass and processing side streams for food and nutraceutical innovation - Incorporation and application of marine bioactives in functional foods and dietary supplements - Stability, bioavailability, and bioaccessibility during processing and digestion - Development of delivery systems, encapsulation, and formulation technologies for marine bioactives. Topic editors: Sanja Radman, Mladenka Šarolić Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80265/marine-bioactive-compounds-from-sustainable-sources-to-functional-foods-and-nutraceuticals