Mild Treated Plant Derived Fractions: Potential of Customized Heterogeneity

The exploration of plant-derived food ingredients has increasingly focused on developing new functional fractions for industry applications and improved human health. Historically, research has emphasized isolating highly purified macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, or fibers to scrutinize their fundamental properties. While this reductionist approach has yielded pivotal insights into structure–function relationships, emerging evidence reveals a complex reality: higher purity does not always translate into superior functionality, and the behavior of isolated biopolymers often fails to replicate their performance in real food matrices. Moreover, the resource-intensive processes required for deep purification raise concerns over environmental sustainability and economic feasibility, generating an urgency for alternative strategies. Recent studies suggest that mild processing of plant materials, which preserves more of the intrinsic matrix heterogeneity, can result in fractions with enhanced and sometimes novel functionalities. Despite their promise, these mildly derived fractions remain underexplored compared to purified systems, especially regarding their applicability, impact on food quality, and potential for sustainable food system transformation. This Research Topic aims to advance understanding and innovation of mildly treated plant-derived fractions, highlighting the potential of customized heterogeneity to generate functional, sustainable ingredients. The objective is to move beyond conventional paradigms of purification and to encourage interdisciplinary research tackling all stages of the development pipeline—from raw material selection and process optimization, to application in real food systems, thorough nutritional assessment, and life-cycle sustainability analyses. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:  - Selection and characterization of suitable plant raw materials for mild fractionation - Innovative wet and dry extraction/fractionation techniques for plant macromolecule mixtures - Functional, sensory, and nutritional evaluation of mild treated plant fractions - Comparative environmental and economic analyses, including waste management and life-cycle assessments - Novel applications of customized heterogeneous plant fractions in food formulation and design - Challenges and opportunities in scaling up mild processing for industrial implementation. Topic editors: Busra Gultekin Subasi, Esteban Echeverria-Jaramillo, Ruixian Han Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76505/mild-treated-plant-derived-fractions-potential-of-customized-heterogeneity