Seafood-Derived Functional Ingredients in Food Systems: Structure, Stability, and Applications

Seafood is a rich source of proteins, peptides, lipids, gelatin, collagen, minerals, polysaccharides, and other compounds with strong potential for food applications. In recent years, growing attention has been given to seafood-derived ingredients not only for their nutritional value, but also for their techno-functional roles in food systems, including emulsification, gelation, encapsulation, texture enhancement, oxidative stabilization, and shelf-life extension. At the same time, advances in food processing, enzymatic modification, and ingredient engineering have expanded the possibilities for incorporating these materials into innovative food products with improved quality and functionality.Despite this progress, important challenges remain in linking ingredient recovery and modification to actual food performance. Many studies still focus primarily on extraction or composition, while less attention is given to how seafood-derived ingredients behave in real food matrices, how their structure affects their function, and how processing conditions influence their stability, safety, sensory impact, and scalability. There is a clear need for more integrated research that connects food chemistry, bioprocessing, ingredient functionality, and product design.This Research Topic aims to gather high-quality contributions that advance the understanding and application of seafood-derived ingredients in food systems, with particular emphasis on food quality, stability, and product performance. The goal is to bring together studies that move beyond ingredient isolation alone and demonstrate clear relevance to formulation, preservation, and innovation in foods.To gather further insights in this area, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Processing and recovery strategies for seafood-derived food ingredients, including enzymatic, physical, and green technologies;- Structure-function relationships of seafood proteins, peptides, lipids, gelatin, collagen, biocalcium, chitosan, and related compounds;- Emulsifying, foaming, gelling, water-binding, oil-binding, and interfacial properties of seafood-derived ingredients;- Encapsulation and delivery of seafood-derived bioactives for improved stability and food application;- Application of seafood-derived ingredients in emulsions, gels, fortified foods, bakery products, restructured foods, and other food matrices;- Effects of seafood-derived ingredients on oxidative stability, microbial stability, texture, sensory properties, and shelf life;- Food-grade applications of enzyme-derived seafood fractions and hydrolysates;- Safety, quality, and scalability considerations for seafood-derived ingredients in food product design. Topic editors: Umesh Patil, Tanaji Kudre, Avtar Singh Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82229/seafood-derived-functional-ingredients-in-food-systems-structure-stability-and-applications