Food Bioactives for Health Promotion: Mechanisms, Metabolism, and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Food bioactives—such as polyphenols, peptides, polysaccharides, and functional lipids—exhibit significant potential in maintaining health and preventing chronic diseases. In recent years, research on the metabolic pathways, molecular mechanisms, and applications of these components in food and nutrition has advanced considerably. However, many questions remain regarding their bioavailability, metabolic transformation, and interactions with the gut microbiome. At the same time, advances in new materials and technologies offer innovative approaches for improving the delivery, stability, and efficacy of bioactive compounds.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research on the metabolic fate, mechanistic insights, and health applications of food bioactives. We welcome studies focusing on molecular structure, in vivo metabolism, regulatory signaling pathways, gut microbiome interactions, and emerging applications in functional foods, precision nutrition, and delivery systems. Research integrating multi-omics, artificial intelligence, and other advanced methodologies to explore structure–function relationships is also encouraged.

We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and short communications to help advance this dynamic field.

Dr. Yang He
Dr. Meihong Liu
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.