Bioactive Compounds in Functional Foods: From Food Preservation to Health Benefits
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: 16 July 2026 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editor
Interests: natural antioxidants; bioactive compounds; functional foods; food processing and preservation; the valorization of agro-industrial by-products; microbiome-metabolomics; gut microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The global demand for functional foods is rapidly increasing, driven by a growing consumer focus on health, wellness, and disease prevention. At the heart of this trend are bioactive compounds, natural or processed constituents—such as polyphenols, peptides, carotenoids, and dietary fibers—that provide physiological benefits beyond basic nutrition. Historically, many of these compounds have been utilized for their inherent preservative properties, inhibiting oxidation and microbial growth to enhance food safety and shelf-life. Nowadays, scientific research is increasingly revealing their dual role: not only do they serve as natural agents for food preservation, but they also deliver significant health benefits, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cardioprotective, and gut-modulating effects.
This Special Issue aims to compile high-quality original research and review articles that explore the multifaceted roles of bioactive compounds in functional foods, spanning from their application in food preservation to their mechanisms of action in delivering health benefits.
Dr. Adriano Costa de Camargo
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 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.
Keywords
- bioactive compounds
- functional foods
- food stability and shelf-life
- natural antioxidants
- antimicrobial activity
- gut microbiota
- extraction technologies
- bioavailability
- encapsulation
- sustainable food systems
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