Sustainable Production of Functional Foods from Crop Resources

The transition toward sustainable food systems requires a coordinated approach that integrates crop biology and advanced food science to maximize the health-promoting potential of plant resources. While traditional agricultural research often prioritizes agronomic yield, there is a critical need to optimize cultivation and genotype selection to enhance specific functional components, such as plant secondary metabolites and prebiotic carbohydrates. However, the mere presence of these compounds in crops does not guarantee their nutritional efficacy. Plant matrices often exhibit low nutrient bioavailability due to structural barriers or anti-nutritional factors. Recent advances demonstrate that combining sustainable agronomy with targeted post-harvest bioprocessing—such as microbial fermentation and innovative encapsulation—can successfully release bound bioactives, synthesize prebiotic fractions, and significantly improve the bioaccessibility of essential nutrients.This Research Topic aims to address the critical challenge of translating crop biochemical potential into highly bioavailable and stable functional food systems. Many valuable bioactive compounds and nutrients within underutilized or resilient crops remain locked within complex plant cell walls, leading to poor absorption in the human gastrointestinal tract. By integrating crop sustainability with modern food biotechnology, this topic explores how agricultural inputs and genetic factors influence the synthesis of functional nutrients and prebiotic precursors. Concurrently, it investigates green bioprocessing strategies (e.g., lactic acid fermentation, enzymatic treatments) designed to break down anti-nutritional factors, enhance nutrient availability, and protect sensitive bioactives through advanced encapsulation. Ultimately, the goal is to provide a comprehensive, "soil-to-gut" perspective on upgrading crop resources into functional ingredients with scientifically validated bioavailability and targeted health benefits.We welcome original research, reviews, and perspective papers that connect sustainable crop biology with the optimization of nutrient delivery and bioavailability. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:- Influence of sustainable agronomic practices and genetics on the profile of crop bioactives, vitamins, and prebiotic carbohydrates.- Bioprocessing strategies (e.g., solid-state or liquid fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis) to enhance nutrient availability and decrease anti-nutritional factors.- Development and characterization of crop-derived prebiotics and their functional interactions with probiotic strains.- Microencapsulation and stabilization of plant bioactives to ensure targeted delivery and stability during processing and digestion.- In vitro and in vivo evaluation of nutrient bioaccessibility and bioavailability from tailored crop-based foods.- Valorization of agricultural by-products into bioavailable functional ingredients and prebiotic matrices. Topic editors: Andreea D. ONA, Oana Lelia Pop Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83512/sustainable-production-of-functional-foods-from-crop-resources