Natural Antioxidants in Food and Nutraceuticals: Methodological Innovations, Bioavailability and Health Mechanisms

Dear Colleagues,

Oxidative processes underlie the deterioration of food products and the onset of several chronic diseases and aging-related dysfunctions. Natural antioxidants, such as polyphenols, carotenoids, and certain vitamins, are ubiquitous in plant foods and nutraceutical formulations. They exert multifunctional roles as free-radical scavengers and modulators of redox signaling, thus preventing oxidation in food systems and prolonging shelf life, but also supporting human health. However, the practical application of natural antioxidants is hampered by critical challenges. Firstly, accurate determination of antioxidant content and activity is hindered by methodological diversity: the broad array of in vitro assays often generate results that are non-comparable and insufficiently linked to human biology and physiological outcomes. Moreover, the bioavailability, metabolism, and modes of action of dietary antioxidants in vivo are complex. Evidence from human studies reveals that in vitro capacity does not always translate directly to in vivo outcomes, due in part to absorption, transformation, and interaction with endogenous defense systems. Recent advances, including high-resolution chromatographic techniques, mass spectrometry, electrochemical methods, and integrative omics approaches, are beginning to address these gaps by improving antioxidant determination, structural elucidation, and functional assessment. Nevertheless, the standardization of analytical protocols and data reporting remains critical to enhancing cross-study comparability and reproducibility.

In addition, there is growing global consumer demand for functional ingredients that deliver health benefits beyond basic nutrition, leading to rapid expansion of the nutraceutical sector. Emerging research highlights the therapeutic potential of antioxidant-rich nutraceuticals in modulating inflammatory responses, supporting cardiometabolic health, and managing autoimmune and age-related disorders. Nevertheless, the translation of these findings into effective and evidence-based applications is hindered by regulatory complexity, variable efficacy, and an incomplete understanding of dose–response relationships and inter-individual variability in response to intervention.

This Topical Collection aims to collect original articles and reviews addressing analytical, nutritional, and health-related aspects of natural antioxidants, as well as translational impact in natural antioxidant investigation. We welcome contributions that

-Advance quantitative, comparative, and mechanistic methods for determining antioxidants in complex food matrices and nutraceutical formulations, with particular attention paid to method validation and standardization;

-Elucidate the bioavailability and metabolism of natural antioxidants in human and model systems, as well as their biological effects;

-Explore structure–function relationships and modulation of molecular pathways relevant to health outcomes;

-Assess clinical, nutritional, and food-related technological implications of antioxidant intake, including safety, regulatory, and translational aspects, with a view to achieving evidence-based application.

Dr. Gregorio Peron
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. BioTech is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• antioxidants
• oxidative stress
• human health
• antioxidant determination
• bioavailability
• functional foods
• nutraceuticals
• redox signaling