Chemical Properties and Functional Roles of Bioactive Compounds in Natural Foods
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 June 2026
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bioactive compounds naturally present in foods, such as polyphenols, peptides, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and phytosterols, have attracted increasing attention due to their diverse chemical properties and health-promoting functions. These compounds play critical roles in maintaining food quality, modulating metabolism, and preventing chronic diseases. Understanding the relationship between their chemical structures and biological functions is essential for developing functional foods and improving human health. However, their stability, bioavailability, and mechanisms of action within complex food matrices remain major challenges. This Special Issue aims to collect studies on recent advances in the identification, structural characterization, and functional elucidation of bioactive compounds from natural food sources. Topics include analytical approaches, structure–activity relationships, metabolism, and health-related mechanisms, as well as innovative delivery systems that enhance stability and functionality.
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jiangning Hu
Guest 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 special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2900 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.
Keywords
- • bioactive compounds
- • natural foods
- • functional properties
- • structure–activity relationship
- • polyphenols
- • peptides
- • polysaccharides
- • metabolism
- • antioxidant activity
- • chronic disease prevention
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