Food Science and Agriculture: Research Highlights Vol. 8

Sprouted Legumes for Sustainable Nutrition and Food Security: A Critical Narrative Review of Nutritional Gains, Safety Constraints and Translation Pathways

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Legumes are central to affordable plant-based diets and low-input cropping systems, yet their nutritional contribution is constrained by limited digestibility, antinutritional compounds, long cooking times and uneven consumer acceptance. Germination has therefore attracted renewed interest as a comparatively simple bioprocess that activates endogenous enzymes, remodels seed reserves and permits the production of fresh sprouts or shelf-stable sprouted ingredients. This critical narrative review evaluates whether sprouted legumes can make a defensible contribution to sustainable nutrition and food security. Literature was selected through transparent searches of accessible scholarly sources, with emphasis on peer-reviewed studies of nutritional composition, digestibility, mineral bioaccessibility, bioactive compounds, food safety, product development and sustainability-relevant implementation.

The strongest evidence indicates that sprouting commonly lowers raffinose-family oligosaccharides and can reduce phytate, protease inhibitors and selected tannins, while increasing free amino acids, certain vitamins and extractable phenolics. These effects are not universal. Their magnitude and direction depend on species, cultivar, seed history, germination time, temperature, light, water management and downstream cooking or drying. In vitro protein digestibility often improves, but changes in mineral bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity are inconsistent, and human trials that connect compositional changes to clinically meaningful outcomes remain scarce. Nutritional optimisation also creates a food-safety tension: the warm, humid conditions that support germination can amplify seed-borne pathogens, while fresh sprouts are perishable and are often consumed with little or no heat treatment. Product studies show promise for sprouted flours in breads and other foods, but excessive inclusion or uncontrolled enzyme activity can impair dough handling, texture, flavour and shelf life.

Sprouted legumes can support food availability, dietary utilisation and value-chain diversification when germination is matched to local infrastructure and safety capacity. Their sustainability cannot be inferred from the agronomic advantages of legumes alone; water use, sanitation, drying energy, refrigeration, losses and packaging must be evaluated. The most credible pathway is therefore not universal promotion of raw sprouts, but context-specific deployment of standardised short germination, validated microbial controls and culturally acceptable cooked or shelf-stable products.

Bioactive Compounds in Foods: Classification, Bioavailability and Health Effects: A Critical Narrative Review

C. Raja Babu, K. Thirumalaiselvi — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Foods contain, beyond their macronutrient and micronutrient content, a heterogeneous group of secondary plant metabolites and animal-derived molecules collectively termed bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, carotenoids, glucosinolates, phytosterols, bioactive peptides and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Interest in these compounds has grown substantially as epidemiological, mechanistic and clinical research has accumulated, yet the evidence base remains fragmented across compound classes, disease outcomes and study designs, and existing reviews tend to address single compound families or narrow technological applications rather than integrating mechanism, bioavailability and clinical outcome across the field as a whole. This critical narrative review synthesises current literature on the classification, dietary sources, bioavailability, gut microbial metabolism and principal health associations of the major classes of food-derived bioactive compounds, together with the influence of food processing and delivery technologies on their retention and systemic exposure. Literature was identified through targeted searches of biomedical and food-science databases and citation searching of recent reviews, appraised for methodological quality and relevance, and synthesised thematically rather than as a study-by-study catalogue. The reviewed evidence indicates consistent, moderate-strength associations between polyphenol-rich whole foods and improvements in blood pressure and lipid parameters, between carotenoid intake and reduced risk of selected cancers and cardiovascular disease, and between soy isoflavone intake and modestly reduced cancer incidence, although effect sizes are frequently attenuated or absent for isolated extracts, for hard clinical endpoints and for cognitive and vascular outcomes. Substantial heterogeneity in dosing, formulation, trial duration and population characteristics limits the strength of causal inference across nearly all compound classes. Bioavailability, gut microbial biotransformation and food matrix effects emerge as recurring determinants of inconsistent findings across the literature. The review identifies methodological and mechanistic gaps that constrain translation of laboratory and epidemiological findings into dietary guidance and proposes priorities for standardised dosing, longer intervention periods and matrix-aware trial design.

Functional Foods for Disease Prevention: Evidence, Emerging Technologies and Future Perspectives

C. Raja Babu, K. Thirumalaiselvi — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Functional foods occupy an increasingly influential but scientifically unsettled space between conventional nutrition, food technology and preventive health. The category includes naturally bioactive foods, fortified or enriched products, fermented foods, biofortified crops and food matrices engineered to deliver physiologically active compounds. This critical narrative review evaluates how convincingly such foods prevent disease, how emerging technologies are changing their design and assessment, and which scientific, regulatory and social conditions must be met for future innovation to generate public value. Literature published from 1990 to 21 May 2026 was identified through live searches of PubMed/MEDLINE and PubMed Central, supplemented by targeted scholarly web searching, citation tracking and verification through DOI and official journal landing pages. Evidence was appraised according to study design, matrix fidelity, endpoint relevance, consistency, risk of bias, generalisability and alignment between mechanistic and clinical findings.

The strongest evidence concerns functional components embedded in recognisable dietary patterns or conventional foods, particularly whole grains, viscous cereal fibres, nuts, legumes, plant sterol-fortified foods and selected fermented foods. Benefits are generally more convincing for intermediate cardiometabolic outcomes than for hard disease endpoints, and causal confidence declines when isolated compounds, short interventions, surrogate biomarkers or highly selected populations dominate the evidence. For colorectal cancer prevention, fibre-rich whole foods are supported more consistently than concentrated phytochemical supplements. Probiotic, prebiotic and fermented-food effects remain product-, strain-, substrate- and host-specific. Food-matrix structure, processing, dose, background diet and inter-individual metabolism frequently determine whether biochemical potential becomes human benefit.

Foodomics, artificial intelligence, non-thermal processing, encapsulation, nano-delivery, precision fermentation, genome editing and three-dimensional food printing may improve discovery, stability, bioavailability and personalisation. Yet most technology-centred evidence remains upstream of clinical validation, while safety assessment, interoperability, transparent algorithms, affordability, cultural fit and regulatory substantiation lag behind technical capability. Future progress requires a shift from ingredient-centred novelty towards matrix-aware, clinically anchored and equity-sensitive innovation. Functional foods can contribute to disease prevention, but they should complement rather than displace high-quality dietary patterns and structural policies that improve access to nutritious foods.

Development and Nutritional–Sensory Evaluation of Noodles Enriched with Amaranth Seed Flour

Priyanshu Tripathi, Renu Mogra — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Pseudocereals can complement conventional cereals by improving the nutritional quality of foods. Amaranth is a pseudocereal with a bland taste, ease of cooking, and comparatively high contents of protein, fat, fibre, energy, and minerals; however, it remains underutilized and consumed in relatively few locations. This study aimed to develop protein-enriched noodles by substituting wheat flour with amaranth seed flour and to evaluate the sensory and nutritional characteristics of the resulting products. Amaranth seed flour was incorporated at 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%. Sensory evaluation was conducted using a nine-point hedonic scale, and the proximate and mineral compositions of the control and selected flour mixture were assessed. Among the enriched formulations, noodles containing 50% amaranth seed flour received the highest overall acceptability score (7.70 ± 0.10), whereas the 70% formulation received the lowest score (6.67 ± 0.25). The 50% formulation showed the most favourable sensory characteristics among the fortified treatments. Crude protein increased from 12.07 g in the control to 13.22 g in the flour mixture. The enriched flour mixture also showed higher crude fat, ash, fibre, calcium, iron, and phosphorus contents, although carbohydrate and energy values were lower than those of the control. These findings indicate that amaranth seed flour can be incorporated into noodles to improve nutritional quality while retaining acceptable sensory properties.

Fibrous Architectures for Food Storage and Packaging: A Critical Review of Conventional Textiles, Active Nanofibres and Intelligent Systems

Bindu Kumari, Shalini Rukhaya, Neelam M. Rose, Saroj Yadav — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Textile structures occupy a distinctive but fragmented position in food storage and packaging. Woven sacks and meshes remain indispensable for bulk grains and fresh produce, nonwoven pads regulate exudate and local package humidity, and electrospun fibrous mats increasingly serve as carriers for antimicrobials, antioxidants and freshness-responsive compounds. Yet these technologies are often assessed in separate disciplinary literatures, which obscures the common design problem: how fibre chemistry, pore architecture, surface treatment and multilayer construction jointly determine mechanical integrity, mass transfer, biological control, sensing performance, safety and end-of-life outcomes. This critical narrative review integrates evidence on woven natural- and synthetic-fibre containers, hermetic textile-composite bags, absorbent nonwovens, electrospun active materials and textile-supported intelligent indicators. Literature published from 1 January 2000 to 31 May 2026 was selected through accessible scholarly indexes, DOI registries, official journal records and citation searching, with earlier foundational work retained where necessary. Conventional jute and woven polypropylene provide low-cost handling and stackability, but open structures offer limited protection against moisture, oxygen and insects unless combined with coatings or liners. Hermetic multilayer systems generally provide stronger stored-grain protection, although puncture sensitivity and complex end-of-life pathways remain important constraints. Electrospun materials offer high surface area, tunable release and rapid analyte response, but most evidence remains based on laboratory-scale production, short storage trials and incompletely characterised migration. Colourimetric nanofibre indicators can track food-specific spoilage chemistry, yet they cannot independently demonstrate microbiological safety and require calibration against temperature, humidity and matrix effects. Across all textile classes, claims of sustainability are frequently stronger than comparative life-cycle evidence. Progress depends on architecture-specific test standards, realistic food-contact and migration studies, pilot-scale manufacturing, reuse-hygiene validation and life-cycle assessment that includes avoided food loss. Textile packaging is therefore best understood not as a single material category, but as a hierarchy of fibrous structures whose value depends on matching transport, preservation, information and circularity functions to a defined food system.

Sustainable Rice Food Security in Indonesia: Systemic Challenges, Policy Trade-offs and Adaptation Strategies

Tajidan Tajidan, Aida Muspiah — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rice remains central to food availability, household purchasing power, farm livelihoods and political stability in Indonesia, yet sustained food security cannot be inferred from national production or self-sufficiency alone. This critical narrative review evaluates the resilience and sustainability of Indonesia's rice system by integrating agronomic, climatic, environmental, market and policy evidence. Literature published from 2000 to 10 June 2026 was prioritised, with earlier seminal work included where necessary, and evidence was selected through searches of accessible scholarly indexes, bibliographic services and authoritative institutional sources. The synthesis indicates that Indonesia's rice system combines substantial adaptive capacity with persistent structural exposure. Production can recover strongly after adverse seasons, but climate variability, delayed rainy seasons, heat, drought, flooding, salinity, unequal water control, land conversion, yield and technical-efficiency gaps, seed-system and extension constraints, labour transitions, input dependence, post-harvest losses and market volatility continue to threaten the stability and distribution of rice supply. Policy responses also involve trade-offs: high producer prices may strengthen farm incentives but reduce affordability for net rice buyers; import restrictions may support self-sufficiency objectives but weaken flexibility during domestic shortfalls; and expansion into tidal or other marginal lands can increase cultivated area while transferring costs to fragile ecosystems and requiring unusually high management capacity. The strongest adaptation pathway is therefore a portfolio rather than a single production target. Priority components include protection of productive paddy land, reliable irrigation and drainage, stress-tolerant and improved seed, locally calibrated nutrient and water management, climate-informed planting decisions, appropriate mechanisation, post-harvest upgrading, layered insurance and public-stock instruments, and flexible trade arrangements. Sustainable rice food security should ultimately be assessed by stable and affordable access, viable farm incomes, shock recovery, resource efficiency and environmental burden, rather than by national self-sufficiency ratios in isolation.

Food Additives and Kidney Disease: A Critical Narrative Review of Exposure Assessment, Mechanistic Plausibility and Evidential Strength

Sivakumar Joghi Thatha Gowder — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Industrial food additives are now near-ubiquitous constituents of the packaged food supply, and nephrology has treated them as a clinical problem for more than fifteen years, chiefly because inorganic phosphate salts deliver highly absorbable mineral to people whose capacity to excrete it is impaired. The literature that has grown around this concern is nevertheless fragmented. One body of work audits additive prevalence in the food supply, a second uses ultra-processed food intake as a proxy exposure and relates it to kidney outcomes, a third examines individual additive classes against non-renal endpoints in large dietary-record cohorts, and a fourth reports high-dose animal toxicology. These literatures rest on incompatible exposure constructs and are seldom appraised together. This critical narrative review evaluates the strength, consistency and limitations of evidence linking food additives to kidney disease across the general population, chronic kidney disease and kidney failure treated by dialysis. Literature was identified through structured searching of Europe PMC and Crossref Metadata Search, supplemented by institutional sources and citation searching, and appraised for exposure-measurement validity, confounding structure, outcome relevance and translational reach. The evidence is strongest, and closest to causal, for additive-derived inorganic phosphate raising serum phosphate in people receiving maintenance haemodialysis, where two randomised trials of additive avoidance produced concordant reductions. It weakens substantially in earlier chronic kidney disease and is largely absent for kidney endpoints in people with normal kidney function. Associations between ultra-processed food intake and incident kidney disease are consistent in direction but cannot identify additives as the operative agent, because ultra-processing co-varies with energy density, sodium, sugar and diet quality. Evidence on emulsifiers, non-sugar sweeteners, preservatives, colours and flavour enhancers is dominated by cardiometabolic, oncological or rodent endpoints, with kidney outcomes rarely measured. The central unresolved problem is exposure quantification: mandatory declaration of total phosphorus and additive-derived potassium would convert an unmeasurable exposure into a measurable one and is the precondition for informative trials. Current clinical advice should target additive-dense products rather than whole food groups.

Agroecology and Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes: A Comprehensive Review

Megna Rashid Bakshi — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Agricultural landscapes occupy nearly half of the Earth's habitable land surface and represent the primary interface between human food production systems and natural ecosystems. The global intensification of agriculture over the past century has been identified as the principal driver of terrestrial biodiversity loss, threatening the very ecosystem services upon which agricultural productivity depends. Agroecology, as both a scientific discipline and a set of farming practices, has emerged as a promising framework for reconciling agricultural production with biodiversity conservation. This comprehensive review synthesises current evidence on the relationships between agroecological approaches and biodiversity outcomes in agricultural landscapes. The multifaceted contributions of landscape heterogeneity, including compositional and configurational diversity, to the maintenance of farmland biodiversity across multiple taxa are examined. The review evaluates key agroecological interventions, encompassing organic farming systems, agroforestry practices, crop diversification strategies, and the establishment of ecological infrastructure such as hedgerows and field margins. Particular attention is devoted to the ecosystem services mediated by biodiversity, including pollination, biological pest control, and soil health maintenance. This review critically assesses the effectiveness of policy instruments, notably agri-environment schemes, in promoting biodiversity-friendly farming practices. The evidence demonstrates that agroecological approaches can significantly enhance biodiversity in agricultural landscapes whilst maintaining productive capacity, though outcomes are highly context-dependent and vary with landscape structure, taxonomic group, and implementation approach. The review identifies critical research gaps and proposes directions for future investigation to advance the integration of agroecology and biodiversity conservation in the transition towards sustainable food systems.