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Foods
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Interactions Between Food Compounds and Gut Microbiota
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Interactions Between Food Compounds and Gut Microbiota

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2025 | Viewed by 4670

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yi Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Food and Bioengineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
Interests: food microbiology; gut microbiota; gut–brain axis; epigenetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The gut microbiota consists of trillions of microbes that impact the physiology of multiple host tissues. Food compounds are supposed to come into contact with gut microbiota, profoundly shaping its formation and dynamics, thereby exerting their health-modulatory effect. It remains a major challenging task to understand the precise relationship between specific food compounds, their metabolites, natural substances with health benefits, and the overall architecture of gut microbiota. It is crucial to consider the interplay between food compounds and gut microbiota within the context of host physiology, particularly in the presence of various forms of diseases. The aim of this Special Issue of Foods is to gather and display cutting-edge research on the relationship between food compounds (including natural compounds with health effects) and gut microbiota. This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews on studies that illustrate the microbial changes in response to food digestion, elucidate the roles of microbiota in physiological outcomes, and investigate the associated mechanisms. Clear and concisely written manuscripts are highly desirable and appreciated.

Dr. Yi Xu
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

  • food compounds
  • gut microbiota
  • natural substances
  • firmicutes
  • proteobacteria
  • bacteroidetes

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 11370 KiB  
Article
Goat Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Alleviate Colitis Potentially Through Improved Gut Microbiota in Mice
by Xinru Wang, Yi Liu, Hong Chang, Hein-Min Tun, Xiaodong Xia, Ye Peng and Ningbo Qin
Foods 2025, 14(9), 1514; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14091514 - 26 Apr 2025
Viewed by 510
Abstract
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized clinically by intestinal inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis. The consumption of biologics, although effective in inflammation control, may lead to adverse effects and is inconvenient for at-home administration. Goat milk-derived extracellular vesicles (GMEVs) have been proposed as a [...] Read more.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized clinically by intestinal inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis. The consumption of biologics, although effective in inflammation control, may lead to adverse effects and is inconvenient for at-home administration. Goat milk-derived extracellular vesicles (GMEVs) have been proposed as a supplement to prevent intestinal inflammation. However, their therapeutic potential for colitis remains elusive. This study aimed to explore the preventive effect of GMEVs on colitis and its underlying mechanisms through the microbiota-immune axis using a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model. We found that a pre-treatment of 20 mg/kg/d GMEVs effectively prevented body weight loss, colon shortening, the depletion of colonic goblet cells, and the disappearance of crypts, while enhancing the intestinal mucosal barrier. Consistent with these phenotypes, GMEV pre-treatment increased levels of IL-22 and IL-10 and decreased levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and iNOS. However, GMEVs themselves had no effect on normal mice. Paralleling the alleviation of intestinal inflammation, GMEV pre-treatment also restored the reduction in unclassified Muribaculaceae, Dubosiella, and Lactobacillus and suppressed the expansion of Alistipes and Proteobacteria following DSS treatment. Additionally, GMEV intake significantly downregulated the expression of proteins in the NF-κB signaling pathway induced by DSS. In summary, GMEVs could prevent colitis by regulating intestinal inflammation, the intestinal mucosal barrier, gut microbiota, organ damage, and the immune microenvironment. This study demonstrated that GMEVs have potential application prospects for UC prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions Between Food Compounds and Gut Microbiota)
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15 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
A New Plant Active Polysaccharide from Nicotiana Improves the Lead-Led Impairment of Spatial Memory in Mice by Modulating the Gut Microbiota and IL-6
by Ruili Yang, Feng Zhu, Wanying Mo, Huailong Li, Dongliang Zhu, Zengyang He and Xiaojing Ma
Foods 2024, 13(19), 3177; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193177 - 6 Oct 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1534
Abstract
Active polysaccharides from plants are broadly applied in the food and health industry. The purpose of this study is to identify a new plant active polysaccharide and to investigate its role in modulating spatial memory. Ultrasonics and DEAE-52 chromatography were used to separate [...] Read more.
Active polysaccharides from plants are broadly applied in the food and health industry. The purpose of this study is to identify a new plant active polysaccharide and to investigate its role in modulating spatial memory. Ultrasonics and DEAE-52 chromatography were used to separate and purify the plant active polysaccharide (PAP). Mice were exposed to 100 ppm of lead acetate from birth to 7 weeks old to establish the memory impairment model. PAPs with concentrations of 200 or 400 ppm were fed to the subject mice each day after weaning in a spatiotemporally separated fashion. At the end of the intervention, mice were examined using the Morris water maze test, microbiome sequencing, cytokine profiling and protein analysis. The derived active polysaccharide was constituted by β-anomeric carbon, indicating a new form of PAP. The PAP significantly ameliorates the memory impairment caused by postnatal lead exposure, as evidenced by the preferred coverage of the test mouse in the hidden platform, demonstrating salient neuroregulatory activity. In terms of the gut microbiome in response to PAP treatment, it was found that the 400 ppm PAP reversed the gut dysbiosis, producing a comparable structure to the intact animals, represented by the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Muribaculum, Desulfovibrio, etc. For cytokines, the PAP reversed the plasma levels of IL-6, suggesting an anti-inflammatory trend in the context of proinflammation caused by lead invasion. By injecting an IL-6 antagonist, Tocilizumab, into the deficient mice, the spatial memory was significantly repaired, which demonstrates the central roles of IL-6 in mediating the positive effect of the PAP. Finally, a histone modification mark, H3K27me3, was found to be potent in responding to the signals conveyed by the PAP. The PAP could improve the memory deficits by remodeling the gut–brain axis centered at the microbiota and IL-6, which is regarded as an important cytokine-modulating brain activity. This is an intriguing instance linking neuromodulation with the active polysaccharide, shedding light on the innovative applications of plant polysaccharides due to the scarcity of similar phenotypic connections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions Between Food Compounds and Gut Microbiota)
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Review

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14 pages, 6260 KiB  
Review
Ketogenic Diet and Gut Microbiota: Exploring New Perspectives on Cognition and Mood
by Yuhan Jiang, Yili Chen, Youmeng Chen, Xinrong Gong, Zhiyu Chen and Xin Zhang
Foods 2025, 14(7), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14071215 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 2156
Abstract
The ketogenic diet (KD) is a dietary regimen characterized by low carbohydrate intake and moderate protein levels, designed to simulate a fasting state and induce ketosis for the production of ketone bodies from fat. Emerging research underscores KD’s potential in improving cognitive functions [...] Read more.
The ketogenic diet (KD) is a dietary regimen characterized by low carbohydrate intake and moderate protein levels, designed to simulate a fasting state and induce ketosis for the production of ketone bodies from fat. Emerging research underscores KD’s potential in improving cognitive functions and regulating mood. Investigations into its safety and efficacy have centered on its anti-inflammatory properties and its impact on neurological health and the gut–brain axis (GBA). This review delves into the relationship between the KD and gut microbiota, emphasizing its potential role in cognitive enhancement and mood stabilization, particularly for managing mood disorders and depression. The investigation of the KD’s physiological effects and its role in promoting cognition and emotion through gut microbiota will pave the way for innovative approaches to personalized dietary interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interactions Between Food Compounds and Gut Microbiota)
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