The Link Between Food Intake, Gut Microbiota and Human Health

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2026 | Viewed by 531

Editors


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Guest Editor
Food Hygiene, Inspection and Control Laboratory, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Lugo, University Campus, Lugo, Spain
Interests: analytical chemistry; functional foods; human nutrition; gut microbiota; metabolomics; foodomics; gene expression
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food Hygiene, Inspection and Control Laboratory (LHICA-USC), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Campus Terra, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), 27002 Lugo, Spain
Interests: microbioma; viroma; functional foods; human nutrition; gut microbiota; metabolomics.functional foods; food-borne pathogens; microbiota; metabolomics; genomics; lipomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are launching this edition where our interest is to address the impacts of diet–gut microbiota interactions on human health, considering various nutritional, regulatory, metabolic, physiological aspects and those that involve how different diets and, in general, different ways of eating affect the composition of the intestinal microbiota and how this relationship influences the appearance or development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

In this Special Issue, we extend an invitation to the scientific community to submit their latest advances in the knowledge of the complex interactions between gut microbiota and health. Manuscripts describing the effects of bioactive compounds, as well as food ingredients and nutrients, on the different microbial populations in the human gut are welcome. Furthermore, the effects of eubiosis-altering agents, as well as dysbiosis-correcting agents—such as prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotics, or postbiotics—are of great interest for this Special Issue.

Research articles and reviews focused on the following topics are of particular interest to this Special Issue:

  • Food components that can alter the human intestinal microbiota.
  • Nutritional strategies: use of prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, and dietary bioactive compounds, in restoring gut microbiota balance.
  • The role of gut microbiota and physical activity in maintaining overall human health and preventing NTDs

Prof. Dr. Alberto Cepeda Sáez
Dr. Jose M. Miranda
Dr. Alexandre Lamas
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • gut microbiota
  • probiotics
  • postbiotics
  • prebiotics
  • non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
  • dietary compounds
  • dysbiosis
  • intestinal metatranscriptomics
  • intestinal metabolomics
  • intestinal metaproteomics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 5020 KB  
Article
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P133, a Folate-Producing Probiotic, Ameliorates Cardiac Injury in Hyperhomocysteinemia Mice by Modulating Gut Microbiota and Serum Metabolome
by Wen Dai, Tiantian Jia, Yuanxing Wang and Hengyi Xu
Foods 2026, 15(12), 2088; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15122088 - 9 Jun 2026
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Abstract
Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) constitutes a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The present study examined the cardioprotective effects and underlying mechanisms of the folate-producing strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) P133, isolated from traditional fermented pickled vegetables, in a murine model of HHcy [...] Read more.
Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) constitutes a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The present study examined the cardioprotective effects and underlying mechanisms of the folate-producing strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) P133, isolated from traditional fermented pickled vegetables, in a murine model of HHcy induced by a methionine-choline-deficient diet. The findings revealed that administration of P133 significantly reduced serum homocysteine concentrations and improved cardiac function, as evidenced by decreased serum cardiac enzymes (AST, LDH, Ctnt, Ctni), mitigated myocardial histopathological damage, and lowered oxidative stress levels (e.g., decreased MDA). Mechanistically, P133 appears to provide dual protective effects: firstly, it functions as an intrinsic source of folate, thereby mitigating disturbances in one-carbon metabolism; secondly, it influences the composition of the gut microbiota, significantly enhancing the prevalence of beneficial taxa such as Muribaculaceae, and modifies the serum metabolomic profile by increasing favorable metabolites like indoleacetic acid, which correlate strongly with attenuated cardiac injury. These synergistic effects are associated with attenuated cardiac injury. Therefore, L. plantarum P133 emerges as a promising probiotic candidate for the prevention and treatment of cardiac damage related to HHcy via a multifaceted intervention approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Link Between Food Intake, Gut Microbiota and Human Health)
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