ABSTRACT Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), alternatively known as accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), facilitates the extraction of bioactive compounds from foods and food processing by‐products with less time and solvent usage compared to traditional extraction techniques. In sequential mode, the extraction process takes place in two or more sequential steps. Alterations in the solvent composition, temperature, or both during the sequential steps could assist in selecting a particular group of compounds and avoid overlap among fractions. Thus, the aim of the approach is the chemical separation of extractable compounds in different fractions. This review will focus on the design and evaluation of sequential PLE/ASE procedures with specific attention to process performance assessment. Two main variants of sequential procedures are considered: supercritical fluid extraction coupled with PLE/ASE, and multi‐step PLE/ASE with a solvent polarity gradient. Each factor such as temperature, pressure, solvent composition, and time influences the corresponding step of extraction; these factors are interrelated since each preceding step affects the material being processed in further steps. Analytical comparability and scalability aspects will be also discussed. Reported returns and payback periods are process‐specific and should not be generalized without recalculating plant scale, solvent recovery, equipment use, throughput, feedstock cost, and product value.
ABSTRACT Comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) is a powerful analytical technique for investigating the chemical complexity of food matrices by combining two complementary separation dimensions with mass spectrometric detection. Its enhanced separation capacity makes GC×GC particularly attractive for the characterization of volatile and semi‐volatile compounds, as well as for food authentication, quality assessment, contaminant determination, and comprehensive chemical profiling. This review critically examines several analytical applications of GC×GC in food analysis reported between 2021 and 2025, focusing on the problems addressed, the food matrices investigated, and the added value provided by two‐dimensional separation compared with conventional GC. A bibliometric analysis of publication trends, countries, and journals is combined with a systematic assessment of target compounds, sample preparation, column configurations, modulation systems, and detection strategies. Plant‐based foods were the most extensively investigated matrices, followed by animal‐based products and other food categories, while solid‐phase microextraction was the most frequently employed sample preparation approach. Attention is given to applications involving volatile compounds and aroma, foodomics, fingerprinting, authenticity, and contaminants. Finally, current limitations and emerging opportunities are discussed, highlighting the need for robust quantitative methods, improved data processing, and broader application of GC×GC to complex food matrices.
ABSTRACT Research on artificial sweeteners faces diverse challenges—ranging from long‐term health effects and technological and regulatory questions to environmental aspects—and requires an interdisciplinary approach. Currently, 10 individual substances are approved as artificial sweeteners in the European Union. In this brief review, we demonstrate how these substances are chemically stable under food processing and storage conditions both within and beyond the scope of their approved applications, and we address their stability in ecosystems. Individual degradation products have been described for all sweeteners; however, data on the occurrence and toxicity of these compounds are scarce. Limited stability is particularly evident for peptide‐based sweeteners such as aspartame under acidic conditions. Furthermore, we describe how certain artificial sweeteners (e.g., cyclamate, acesulfame K) can be metabolized by microbiota‐relevant microorganisms, and that other sweeteners (e.g., saccharin, sucralose) can alter the composition of the microbiota.
ABSTRACT Agro‐industrial residues can supply dietary fiber together with extractable or cell‐wall‐associated phenolics, but coexistence does not establish phenolic‐bound dietary fiber (PBDF). This structured narrative review evaluates 95 peer‐reviewed articles published from 1993 to 2026 and four official regulatory sources across ingredient identity, processing, food functionality, biological evidence, safety, and regulation. It proposes operational terms for phenolic‐rich, phenolic‐associated, phenolic‐bound, processing‐modified, and food‐system phenolic–fiber states as a working, not regulatory, framework. Processing is treated as a sequence from stabilization and fiber extraction through matrix modification, food manufacture, and storage. Concentration, extractability, release, redistribution, and degradation are distinguished from true retention, which requires common‐basis mass balance across recovered streams. Food studies indicate combined fiber and phenolic value, although texture, color, bitterness, astringency, and stability often limit inclusion. Incremental advantage over conventional fiber remains uncertain because phenolic‐depleted matched controls and equal‐dose free‐phenolic controls are uncommon. Bioaccessibility, bioavailability, metabolism, and physiological activity are separated as successive evidence domains. Translation requires source and process specifications, contaminant and exposure assessment, regulatory evaluation, and final‐food validation. The field should move toward processing‐aware identity, quantitative phenolic fate, claim‐matched comparators, and food‐grade evidence.
ABSTRACT As 2030 beckons, efforts intensify globally to attain the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving well‐being and the best possible health outcomes. Pertinently, food and medicines are key to these, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing impediment. Conversely, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are vital parts of the innate immune systems of different organisms, with inhibitory effects against pathogens, and are less susceptible to inducing AMR, are touted as highly active, broad‐spectrum antimicrobial agents. Consequently, synthetic AMPs and peptidomimetics can be regarded as the scientific avant‐garde to a sustainable solution. Significantly, the structural flexibility of many AMPs allows for chemical modifications and foldings that can enhance their nutritive and therapeutic potentials in their mimics; making them highly adaptable and stable for a wide range of applications in foods. This Review highlights AMPs in foods as veritable antidotes to the worsening problem of AMR and the importance of sustainable syntheses toward mitigating AMPs’ inherent limitations as well as increasing their availability, to prevent and eradicate AMR.
