European Food Research and Technology最新文献

{"title":"Metabolomics of major Philippine coffee species: chemical signature and comparative analysis","authors":"Camille V. Rodriguez,&nbsp;Ricky B. Nellas,&nbsp;Hiyas A. Junio","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05149-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05149-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Philippine single-origin coffee is gaining international recognition and local interest, yet domestic production is declining, and scientific research remains limited. This study applies untargeted metabolomics to uncover the chemical diversity of Philippine <i>Coffea sp.</i> beans. Molecular profiles of green and roasted <i>Coffea arabica</i>, <i>C. canephora</i>, and <i>C. liberica</i> var. <i>liberica</i> beans collected across the Philippines were generated using UHPLC-QToF-MS. Key metabolite classes – alkaloids, hydroxycinnamic acids, triglycerides, diterpene esters, and carboxylic acid-5-hydroxytryptamides – were putatively identified through molecular networking. Multivariate analyses (PCA and PLS-DA) revealed species and location associated trends primarily driven by caffeine, trigonelline, and triglycerides. Notably, kahweol palmitate, caffeoyl tryptophan, and methylliberine emerged as potential species-specific markers for Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica, respectively. As the first LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics study on Philippine coffee beans, this work establishes a molecular baseline to support future efforts toward improving the value and origin traceability of local coffee.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00217-026-05149-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147829539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond standard brewing yeasts: exploring fermentative and aroma diversity in beers produced with commercial non-conventional strains","authors":"Danae Macarena Romero Rojas,&nbsp;Clara Bruzone,&nbsp;Andrea Trochine,&nbsp;Diego Libkind,&nbsp;Julieta Amalia Burini","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05144-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05144-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Non-conventional yeasts are increasingly shifting from being regarded as spoilage microorganisms to becoming valuable tools for brewing innovation, particularly for the development of low- and no-alcohol (NoLo) beers and for expanding sensory diversity. However, systematic comparative information on the fermentative and aroma-related performance of commercially available yeasts across taxonomic groups remains limited. Here, we performed a comprehensive comparative assessment of a wide selection of commercial non-conventional yeasts belonging to multiple genera, evaluated under standardized brewing conditions and benchmarked against two reference brewing strains. Fermentation performance, substrate utilization, ethanol production, and volatile aroma profiles were systematically analyzed and integrated with sensory evaluation. The results revealed pronounced strain- and genus-dependent differences in fermentation efficiency and aroma compound production, highlighting the substantial diversity currently available within the commercial non-conventional yeasts market. <i>Lachancea</i> strains exhibited the highest fermentative capacity alongside notable acidification and glycerol production, with marked strain-dependent variability. <i>Torulaspora delbrueckii</i> showed consistently low attenuation and limited maltose utilization. <i>Saccharomycodes ludwigii</i> and <i>S. cerevisiae</i> LA-01 produced low ethanol levels, confirming their suitability for NoLo brewing, while differing markedly in phenolic and ester profiles. <i>Hanseniaspora uvarum</i> and <i>Cyberlindnera saturnus</i> stood out for their pronounced fruity ester production, with exceptionally high acetate ester formation in the latter. By providing an integrated overview of fermentative and sensory-relevant traits across a broad taxonomic spectrum, this work advances understanding of non-conventional yeasts in brewing innovation, particularly within the rapidly growing global low- and no-alcohol beer sector, and offers a comparative framework relevant to brewers and researchers worldwide.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147829165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-destructive discrimination of broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) feeding regimes using VIS–NIR hyperspectral imaging and machine learning","authors":"André Rodríguez-León,&nbsp;Jimy Oblitas,&nbsp;Jhonsson Luis Quevedo-Olaya,&nbsp;William Vera,&nbsp;Grimaldo Wilfredo Quispe-Santivañez,&nbsp;Rebeca Salvador-Reyes","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05147-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05147-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Food fraud and the lack of reliable dietary traceability systems in meat products represent a growing challenge for food safety, consumer trust, and the competitiveness of the poultry sector, particularly in contexts where verification of animal feeding relies on documentary records that may be prone to error or manipulation. In this framework, this study aimed to evaluate the capability of VIS–NIR hyperspectral imaging combined with machine learning to discriminate feeding regimes in broiler chickens (<i>Gallus gallus domesticus</i>), specifically assessing the influence of anatomical region on classification performance. A controlled experiment was designed using 60 broilers distributed into three contrasting feeding groups, and hyperspectral images were acquired from four anatomical regions of the carcass (breast, tail/uropygial region, thigh, and drumstick/leg). Spectra were preprocessed using Savitzky–Golay filtering and SNV normalization, and several supervised classification models, including linear and non-linear algorithms, were trained under strict individual-wise validation schemes. The results showed that the breast provided the highest discriminative capability, reaching an external accuracy close to 0.98 with an optimized Ridge model, whereas the tail/uropygial region, thigh, and leg exhibited considerably lower performance, reflecting greater structural variability and weaker diet-related spectral signatures. Furthermore, band reduction techniques successfully compressed the input space from 300 to 120 spectral bands without compromising predictive capability. Overall, these findings highlight the strong potential of VIS–NIR hyperspectral imaging as a non-destructive tool to support dietary traceability in chicken meat.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147829164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Species-specific changes in protein and phenolic compounds during germination of ancient and modern wheat","authors":"Petra Hlásná Čepková,&nbsp;Dagmar Janovská,&nbsp;Michal Jágr,&nbsp;Pavel Svoboda,&nbsp;Václav Dvořáček","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05135-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05135-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study evaluated the impact of germination on nutritional and bioactive compounds in seven wheat varieties bred in the Gene Bank of the Czech Agrifood Research Center representing five <i>Triticum</i> species (common, durum, emmer, einkorn, and spelt). Seeds were germinated for up to six days, and changes in crude protein content, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and phenolic acid profiles free and bound forms were assessed. Germination led to significant increases in crude protein content across all varieties. For example, in germinated seeds of spelt wheat variety Rubiota crude protein content increased from 19.42% to 21.97% and in emmer wheat variety Rudico from 16.84% to 20.78%. The largest increase of crude protein content was observed between days 4 and 6 of germination. Total phenolic content rose markedly, with emmer wheat variety Rudico and spelt wheat variety Ruth reaching ~ 5.4-fold increase at day 4). Antioxidant activity also increased, peaking at 13.81 ± 0.57 mmol TE/g dw in emmer wheat variety Tapiruz at day 5. Analysis of phenolic acids and phenolic aldehydes revealed that bound forms were predominant contributing 98.77% to total phenolic content. In spelt wheat variety Rubiota, the sum of bound phenolic acids increased from 867.5 ± 85.0 µg/g dw at day 0 to 1983.2 ± 130.6 µg/g dw at day 6. The most significant increases were observed in ferulic acid and <i>p</i>-coumaric acid. Multiple regression and correlation analyses revealed that total phenolic content is a significant independent predictor of antioxidant activity during germination. Specific bound phenolics, especially syringaldehyde and vanillin showed the strongest associations with AA, highlighting their central role in the antioxidant potential of sprouted grains. These results demonstrate that germination enhances the nutritional and functional properties of wheat grains, with ancient species such as a spelt variety Ruth, emmer variety Rudico, and einkorn variety Rumona showing the greatest increases. The predominance of bound phenolic acids highlights their key role in wheat’s antioxidant capacity and potential health benefits.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00217-026-05135-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hempseed proteins as novel food ingredients: a review","authors":"Bingqi Chen,&nbsp;Vermont P. Dia","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05128-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05128-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To address food insecurity associated with global population growth, hempseed protein, obtained as a co-product of hempseed oil extraction, has attracted increasing attention in both scientific and industrial fields. Compared with traditional plant sources, including soy and pea, hempseed combines a polyunsaturated lipid profile with a favorable ω-6/ω-3 ratio and high-quality protein with a balanced amino acid composition, while offering potential benefits in bioactivity, and sustainability. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of hempseed protein and peptides, emphasizing the potential as sustainable ingredients for food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications, while identifying challenges and opportunities for future research. This review summarizes current knowledge on hempseed processing, nutritional quality, functionality, and health benefits, and discusses recent technological advances aimed at improving functional properties. Furthermore, this review highlights the bioactivities of hempseed-derived peptides generated through enzymatic hydrolysis across in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo systems, including reported peptide sequences and their associated molecular targets. However, three key gaps remain: (1) optimization of hempseed processing for large-scale applications; (2) the evaluation of long-term intake effects through in vivo models to confirm safety; (3) the identification and mechanistic elucidation of bioactive peptides to strengthen health-promoting efficacy; and (4) maximize the value of hempseed proteins. Overall, this review highlights that hempseed protein exhibits nutritional quality and functional properties comparable to other plant-derived proteins, positioning it as a promising novel protein ingredient. Furthermore, multiple processing strategies were introduced to further enhance values, particularly in functionality and health promotion.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative studies on molecular compositions of different varieties of chocolates using DFT-based vibrational analysis and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy coupled with bootstrap assisted PCA","authors":"Neha Sharma,&nbsp;Anshul Uppal,&nbsp;Mousumi Banerjee,&nbsp;Djabir Abdallah Inzoudine,&nbsp;Budigi Prabhakar,&nbsp;Yugal Khajuria,&nbsp;Vivek K. Singh,&nbsp;Mohammed A. Gondal","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05141-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05141-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Chocolate is one of the most popular widely consumed food products (Tan et al. in Nutrients 13(9):2909, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13092909) and comprises of various bioactive compounds including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and antioxidants. In this study, attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR spectroscopy) was employed for a preliminary investigation of the molecular composition and authenticity comparison of four commercially available different varieties of chocolate samples from the Indian market, namely Barone, Dairy Milk, Munch, and Nestlé. Experimental FTIR spectra were compared with theoretical vibrational spectra obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level for major constituents, particularly theobromine and caffeine, showing good agreement between calculated and observed vibrational frequencies. Mulliken charge analysis and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) mapping revealed electron-rich regions localized around oxygen and nitrogen atoms, while positive potential regions were observed near hydrogen atoms, consistent with the spectral assignments. Furthermore, bootstrap-assisted principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the FTIR data and successfully discriminated four chocolate samples, demonstrating the reproducibility and reliability of the dataset. The combined application of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, DFT calculations, and multivariate statistical analysis thus provides a robust and effective approach for chocolate profiling and authenticity verification.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geographic origin of varietal apple and pear cake fillings differentiation based on fruit mineral content","authors":"Ana M. S. Costa,&nbsp;Elisabete Coelho,&nbsp;Eugénio Soares,&nbsp;Eduarda Pereira,&nbsp;Manuel A. Coimbra","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05142-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05142-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Origin determination is crucial for foods under Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), where risks of fraud are high. Authentication of fruit origin in cake fillings is particularly challenging, as pulps lose distinctive morphological traits during transformation, new ingredients are added, and for the same fruit variety the genetic information is independent of the geographic origin. Minerals, intrinsically linked to soil and environmental conditions, represent promising tracers of geographical origin. This may be disguised by the minerals present in the different technological ingredients added in manufacture of the cake fillings. This study hypothesized that even in these conditions, elemental profiles can serve as markers of fruit origin. For this, industrial apple (<i>Malus domestica</i> L. var. ‘Golden Delicious’) and pear (<i>Pyrus communis</i> L. var. ‘Rocha’) cake fillings from different orchards origin and the correspondent fresh fruit were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. For apple samples, the geographic origin can be distinguished by the content of nine elements: B, La, Cs, Ce, Cr, Rb, Cu, Tl, and Mn, after the removal of Fe, Sr, Ba, Al, Pb and Zn, associated to the processing of the cake fillings ingredients. For pear samples, the geographic origin can be distinguished by the content of eleven elements: Zn, Cu, Ni, La, Pb, Rb, Mn, Co, B, Ba, and Cs, after removal of Fe, Cd, Ce, Al, Sr, Cr, and Tl. These elements, characteristic of soil, environment, and depth of tree roots, can be used as markers of authenticity of the fruit cake fillings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00217-026-05142-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Structural and functional characterization of duckweed protein-maltodextrin conjugates and their application in oleogels for low-fat mimetic food materials","authors":"Yunju Jang,&nbsp;Nurul Saadah Said,&nbsp;Wonyoung Lee","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05131-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05131-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study explores the functional and structural characteristics of duckweed protein-maltodextrin conjugates (DPM) as potential fat substitutes through oleogel application. Conjugates were prepared at protein-to-maltodextrin ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3, labeled DPM1, DPM2, and DPM3. Among these, DPM3 exhibited the highest degree of grafting (59.48%), solubility (61.42%), and antioxidant activity (22.70%), suggesting a more extensive Maillard reaction and superior functional properties. Circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed that conjugation disrupted α-helix structures while promoting β-sheet formation, indicating enhanced intermolecular interactions and protein unfolding. Structural analyses using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that conjugation altered protein secondary and tertiary structures, further supporting the improved functional performance. As maltodextrin content increased, foaming capacity decreased, with DPM3 exhibiting the lowest at 17.82%. Nevertheless, DPM3 demonstrated improved emulsion stability, likely due to thicker, viscoelastic interfacial layers. DPM-based oleogels outperformed CON counterparts in texture and oxidative stability. DPM2 formulations (O-DPM2) exhibited superior textural properties, including elasticity, chewiness, and hardness. By day 14, lipid oxidation levels were lowest in O-DPM2 (1.212 mg MDA/kg) and O-DPM3 (1.319 mg MDA/kg), with no significant difference between them. PCA analysis revealed that most of the texture attributes of oleogels were positively correlated with the degree of lipid oxidation. The findings highlight the potential of Maillard reaction-mediated conjugation to enhance functional attributes of duckweed protein, supporting its broader application in food systems.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00217-026-05131-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Proteolytic hydrolysis and functional characterization of zein protein hydrolysates","authors":"Misbah Sharif,&nbsp;Ambreen Naz,&nbsp;Umar Farooq,&nbsp;Kashif Razzaq","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05134-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05134-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Zein, an intact corn protein, possesses high functional value. Its poor solubility and complex protein structure in native form restrict its applicability in food systems. However, limited information on systematic comparisons of enzyme-specific hydrolysis and hydrolysis time is available. Therefore, the objective of current study was to evaluate functional characteristics of zein via controlled proteolytic hydrolysis by using Papain, Flavourzyme and Alcalase at 1:50 enzyme-substrate ratio, followed by hydrolysate sampling at 60th, 120th and 180th minutes of hydrolysis. The resultant zein hydrolysates were analyzed for SDS-PAGE, FTIR, Degree of Hydrolysis (DH %), anti-oxidant activity (DPPH assay) and amino acid profiling. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that Alcalase generated lower molecular weight peptides (10–20 KDa) whereas Papain (45–55 KDa) and Flavourzyme (25–35 KDa) generated relatively larger peptides. FTIR spectroscopy showed progressive structural changes, indicating greater peptide bond cleavage and secondary structure changes during Alcalase hydrolysis. The degree of hydrolysis was highest in Alcalase-180 (39.33%), followed by Alcalase-120 (36.33%) and Alcalase-60 (31.33%). Antioxidant activity assays demonstrated that hydrolysates, particularly those from Alcalase-180, exhibited enhanced radical scavenging potential (60%) followed by Flavourzyme-180 (56%) and Alcalase-120 (53%). Similarly, amino acid analysis confirmed significantly higher levels (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) of hydrophobic amino acids in hydrolysates generated by zein treated with Alcalase for 180 min. Overall, the results suggest that enzymatic hydrolysis, particularly using Alcalse for 180 min, improves functional characteristics of zein.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From root to superfood: unlocking beetroot’s health and functional potential","authors":"Kanchan Bhatt,&nbsp;K. C. Dileep,&nbsp;Shubham Samkaria,&nbsp;Satish Sharma,&nbsp;Rakesh Sharma,&nbsp;Priyanka Rana","doi":"10.1007/s00217-026-05133-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00217-026-05133-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><i>Beta vulgaris</i> L. (Beetroot) is a nutrient-dense root vegetable known for its extensive health benefits, owing to its abundance of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds with well-documented medicinal properties. Beetroot belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family and is recognized for its rich content of betalains, saponins, alkaloids, phenolic acids, and steroids/triterpenes. Beetroot grows relatively well in various climatic zones, and its availability is also extensive. Furthermore, its phytochemical-rich profile makes it an ideal choice for developing functional foods. Besides the well-researched antioxidant properties, it has recently been reported to exhibit anti-cancerous, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hypertensive activities. Although the fresh consumption of this root vegetable is limited due to its earthy taste, growing awareness of the health-promoting roles of phytochemicals has led to an increase in its intake in fresh form and the development of various value-added, novel food products, such as beetroot chips, ice cream, and yogurt. Beetroot processing generates substantial waste in the form of pomace and skin, which contain significant amounts of bioactive compounds that may degrade rapidly during processing. Despite its potent functional properties, this tuberous vegetable continues to strive for commercial recognition in both fresh and processed forms. This review highlights the bioactive, nutritional, and potential functional properties of beetroot. It further explores opportunities for value addition, waste valorization, and genetic improvement to enhance quality and consumer acceptance. Finally, it discusses key challenges and future directions for the scientific community in utilizing this high-value crop for the development of novel products.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture><span>The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.</span></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":549,"journal":{"name":"European Food Research and Technology","volume":"252 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}