Functional components in food have shown promise in maintaining human health with various health-promoting effects, and the development of functional components of food has been the subject of increasing attention. The analysis of food functional components is critical during their research and development, especially for the following three situations: in raw materials, during processing, and in vivo metabolism. All these analysis situations are involved in complex matrixes.

Therefore, sensitive and rapid analysis techniques with high-throughput characteristics are required, allowing the simultaneous analysis of multiple components in a complex matrix. Mass spectrometry can provide abundant structural information in a single analysis. The combination of separation technologies and mass spectrometry is a breakthrough that endows the methods with high-throughput characteristics. Combined mass spectrometry techniques are considered universal methods with high specificity and sensitivity, which are in wide use, and could also be used for the efficient analysis of food functional components.

The aim of this Special Issue is to invite investigators to submit original research and review articles that will stimulate the rising efforts in the analysis of food functional components from complex matrixes, based on combined mass spectrometry techniques.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Advances of combined mass spectrometry techniques in food functional component analysis
• Pretreatment methods for combined mass spectrometry techniques
• Structure analysis of food functional components based on combined mass spectrometry techniques
• Qualitatively and quantitatively analysis of food functional components
• Condition optimization of combined mass spectrometry techniques for food functional component analysis
• Mass spectrometry imaging for in situ analysis of food functional components
• Food functional components analysis in raw materials
• Analysis of functional components in food products
• Changes in food functional components during processing
• In vivo metabolism analysis of food functional components