Structural Roles and Processing Impacts of Anti-Nutritional Factors and Natural Toxins in Plant Foods

Plant food science is rapidly advancing in our understanding of how anti-nutritional factors and natural toxins influence food quality, safety, and human health. While plant-based foods are central to global nutrition, they often contain compounds such as protease inhibitors, oxalates, lectins, glycosides, and alkaloids that can limit nutrient bioavailability or pose toxicological risks. The prevalence and significance of these substances are shaped by the species and physiological state of the plant, as well as by structural features at the cellular and tissue level. Recent studies highlight the importance of microstructural organization and interactions within plant matrices in dictating how anti-nutritional factors and toxins behave, persist, or degrade through the food chain. However, the exact mechanisms linking structural determinants to compound fate during key points such as post-harvest handling and processing remain incompletely understood, representing a critical area for further research with significant implications for food safety and nutrition.This Research Topic aims to advance multidisciplinary insight into the interplay among plant structure, biophysical properties, and the biochemical mechanisms that govern the occurrence, stability, and transformation of anti-nutritional factors and natural toxins during post-harvest and processing stages. It seeks to address fundamental questions regarding how structural and matrix characteristics modulate these compounds’ persistence and biological relevance, how changes in storage or processing conditions alter their fate, and how these factors shape human exposure risks. By deepening our understanding of these structure–processing–exposure relationships, the research intends to inform targeted approaches for improving plant-based food safety and developing effective mitigation strategies.The Topic encompasses investigations into the intricate roles of plant structural features and processing methods, but focuses specifically on the intersection of structure, processing, and safety. We encourage the submission of original research, reviews, and perspectives relevant to plant-based food safety and exposure. To gather further insights in this area, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Structural and microstructural determinants governing the localization, stability, and release of anti-nutritional factors and natural toxins• Effects of post-harvest handling and storage on plant tissue architecture and compound dynamics• Impact of diverse food processing technologies on the transformation, degradation, and bioaccessibility of these compounds• Interactions between plant matrix features, processing conditions, and food safety outcomes• Implications for human exposure, risk–benefit assessments, and processing-based mitigation strategies Topic editors: Elsa M Gonçalves, Spyridon Petropoulos, José Pinela Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78112/structural-roles-and-processing-impacts-of-anti-nutritional-factors-and-natural-toxins-in-plant-foods