The Intervention and Regulatory Potential of Natural Active Substances in Foods on Chronic Diseases

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: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 2260

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
Interests: non-thermal processing of food; food allergens and safety control; nutrition and health regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: food safety; thermal processing; formation mechanism; mitigation strategies; food-born hazardous
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural active substances in foods include not only essential substances in organisms, such as proteins and fats, but also various secondary metabolites, such as glycosides, tannic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, or pigments found in plants; microbial metabolites, such as sugar peptides, peptides, or various organic acids; and animal peptides extracted from animal tissues (such as bones, skin, or cartilage). Research has found that natural active substances show various biological activities, including anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering, blood-lipid-lowering, anti-bacterial, immune-enhancing, obesity-improving, and cardiovascular-disease-reducing functions, suggesting that natural active substances are important pharmaceutical raw materials and offer great potential in the medical, healthcare, and biopharmaceutical fields. Common chronic diseases, including asthma, heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, malignant tumors, and mental health disorders, are difficult to treat. Used alongside corresponding drug treatments, dietary interventions to improve foods, such as by incorporating rich, natural active substances, can serve as an effective means of preventing/alleviating chronic diseases.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Nutrients.

Dr. Fangyu Long
Dr. Guangxu Ren
Dr. Yuchen Zhu
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

  • natural active substances
  • chronic diseases
  • metabolite
  • animal peptide
  • asthma
  • hypertension
  • diabetes
  • obesity
  • mental health disorders

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 4717 KiB  
Article
Natural Copper Ion Scavenger: Investigation of the Hepatoprotective Effects of Green Tea Extract in Toxic-Milk Mice with Wilson’s Disease Model
by Delai Yang, Shujuan Xuan, Wang Zhang, Huan Wu, Yuge Jiang and An Zhou
Foods 2025, 14(4), 679; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14040679 - 17 Feb 2025
Viewed by 784
Abstract
Wilson’s disease (WD) is an inherited disorder characterized by abnormal copper metabolism with complex pathological features. Currently, the mechanism of copper overload-induced hepatic injury is unclear. Green tea is a natural chelator, and its main ingredients, green tea polyphenol (GTP) and L-theanine (L-TA) [...] Read more.
Wilson’s disease (WD) is an inherited disorder characterized by abnormal copper metabolism with complex pathological features. Currently, the mechanism of copper overload-induced hepatic injury is unclear. Green tea is a natural chelator, and its main ingredients, green tea polyphenol (GTP) and L-theanine (L-TA) are good at binding to heavy metals like iron and copper. There have been no reports on green tea extracts (GTE) for the treatment of Wilson’s disease. This study investigated the hepatoprotective effect of GTE on WD model mice. Initially, we examined the impact of green tea extract on copper metabolism, excretion, and hepatoprotective effects in WD model toxic milk mice. Then, Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC-DAD) was established to analyze GTP and L-TA in green tea extract. Further screening of eight active components and copper complex active components in green tea extract was carried out by ion analyzer. Finally, we verified the pharmacodynamic effects of these active ingredients at the animal level. The results showed that GTE improves liver function and attenuates liver injury in TX mice by promoting tissue copper excretion and inhibiting oxidative stress, which provides a theoretical basis for green tea’s potential to improve the clinical symptoms of WD. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 2833 KiB  
Review
Evidence-Based Nutraceuticals Derived from Antrodia cinnamomea
by Chunyuhang Xu, Qingtong Xie, Chien-Liang Kuo, Xin Yang and Dejian Huang
Foods 2025, 14(7), 1212; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14071212 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1077
Abstract
Antrodia cinnamomea (A. cinnamomea), a medicinal and edible mushroom endemic to Taiwan, has been traditionally valued as a health tonic. Recent studies have highlighted the diverse specialized metabolites and bioactive potential of this substance, primarily attributed to key secondary metabolites such [...] Read more.
Antrodia cinnamomea (A. cinnamomea), a medicinal and edible mushroom endemic to Taiwan, has been traditionally valued as a health tonic. Recent studies have highlighted the diverse specialized metabolites and bioactive potential of this substance, primarily attributed to key secondary metabolites such as benzenoids, maleic and succinic acids, ubiquinone, triterpenoids, and the primary metabolite polysaccharides. These compounds exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties, including those related to antibacterial, antitumor, anti-inflammation, hepatoprotection, hypoglycaemia, and antioxidant activities, and immunomodulation and gut microbiota regulation. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of A. cinnamomea and its potential applications in health supplements and functional foods. This review evaluated recent advancements in the cultivation, extraction, and characterization of bioactive compounds from A. cinnamomea, with a particular focus on submerged and solid-state fermentation methods. We hope to provide a comprehensive framework for promoting the efficient and scientific evidence based utilization of A. cinnamomea in novel therapeutic strategies and health-related innovations. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop