Nutraceuticals and Medicine Foods: Processing Technologies, Metabolic Mechanisms, and Human Health
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: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 685
Special Issue Editors
Interests: microbiology; pathogenesis; host–pathogen interaction; nanobiotechnology; food safety; probiotics and gut health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food chemistry; safety; food safety; food supplements and functional foods; nutraceuticals; sustainability; novel foods; nano-nutraceuticals; recovery from byproducts of the agri-food area; formulation and assessing of novel nutraceuticals; food contaminants; contaminants; risk assessment; mycotoxins and secondary metabolites; chemistry and food education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food chemistry and processing; maillard reaction; flavor and sensory science; functional food; bioactive food; bioactive compounds from plants; structural characterization; Immunomodulatory activities; metabolism; antioxidants; metabolomics and analytical methods; chronic disease prevention
Interests: food chemistry; phytochemistry; bioactivity-guided isolation of natural products; functional food; food bioactive compounds; 1D and 2D NMR elucidation; LC/MS analysis; essential oils; semi-synthesis of natural products; ethnopharmacology; microbial and fungal biotransformation
Interests: cardiovascular disease; diabetes; obesity; human metabolism; epigenetics; nutritional biochemistry; cellular and molecular biology; enzymology; chronic disease
Interests: probiotics; bifidobacterium; bactobacillus; gut microbiome; CVD; diabetes; colitis; atherosclerosis; miRNA; drugs; antibiotic resistance; nutrients; metabolism; metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The increasing global interest in nutraceuticals and medicine foods highlights their significant impact on human health, disease prevention, and metabolic regulation. Nutraceuticals, derived from natural food and/or plant sources, contain bioactive compounds such as fibers, essential fatty acids, vitamins, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, and alkaloids that contribute to overall well-being and chronic disease prevention. On the other hand, medicine foods are specifically formulated or engineered to offer targeted therapeutic benefits beyond basic nutrition. Examples include polyphenol-enriched beverages, cholesterol-lowering foods, medicinal mushrooms, and specialized dietary formulations for chronic disease management or treatment.
Recent advances in food science have led to the development of innovative medicine foods, including Maillard-derived low-sodium taste enhancers that support hypertension management and peptide-based flavour enhancers designed to reduce sugar intake, aiding diabetes control and metabolic health. Additionally, research into the gut microbiome, metabolomics, and epigenetic mechanisms has further revealed the complex interactions between nutraceuticals, metabolic pathways, and disease prevention.
This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research exploring how nutraceuticals and medicine foods influence human metabolism, chronic diseases management, and overall health. Topics of interest include bioactive compound isolation and characterization, functional food innovations, metabolic pathway modulation, and precision nutrition strategies. Studies incorporating novel analytical techniques, gut microbiome research, and metabolomic profiling are particularly encouraged.
We welcome submissions on a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Nutraceuticals and metabolic disease prevention;
- Medicine foods and their therapeutic roles;
- Bioactive compounds: isolation, characterization, and bioactivity;
- Low-sodium and low-sugar food solutions;
- Metabolic pathways influenced by nutraceuticals;
- Innovations in analytical and metabolomic methodologies;
- Functional food development for chronic disease management;
- Epigenetic mechanisms and nutritional biochemistry;
- Probiotics, gut microbiome, and metabolic disorders.
This Special Issue aims to present cutting-edge research bridging food science, nutrition, and human health.
Prof. Dr. Arun K. Bhunia
Prof. Dr. Antonello Santini
Dr. Junhe Yu
Dr. Salar Hafez Ghoran
Dr. Fatemeh Taktaz
Dr. Ahmad Ud Din
Guest Editors
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
- nutraceuticals
- antioxidants
- bioactive compounds
- chronic disease prevention
- epigenetics
- functional foods
- gut microbiome
- human metabolism
- food processing and the Maillard reaction
- metabolomics
- precision nutrition
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