Functional Food: Bridging the Gap Between Nutrition and Health
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 60
Special Issue Editors
Interests: nutraceuticals; photoprotection; drugs photostability
Interests: edible mushrooms; medicinal mushrooms; culinary–medicinal plants; antioxidant activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Functional foods, recognized for their ability to enhance health beyond basic nutrition, play a crucial role in addressing contemporary dietary challenges and preventing chronic diseases. Their bioactive components— including phytochemicals (e.g., carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and alkaloids), fiber, vitamins, minerals, peptides, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics—interact with molecular targets to modulate physiological processes. These components have the potential to regulate the molecular pathways associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and gut microbiome dynamics, thereby paving the way for personalized nutrition strategies.
This Special Issue, "Functional Food: Bridging the Gap Between Nutrition and Health", aims to highlight advances in understanding how functional foods and their bioactive components contribute to health at the molecular level. We invite original research and review articles exploring interactions between specific bioactive compounds and the biological mechanisms underlying their effects on physiological functions. Manuscripts that integrate clinical or experimental data with detailed molecular analyses are strongly encouraged. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between nutrition science, molecular biology, pharmacy, and public health, this Special Issue seeks to stimulate innovative dietary strategies for enhancing well-being and reducing disease risk.
Dr. Agata Kryczyk-Poprawa
Prof. Dr. Wlodzimierz Opoka
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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
- functional foods
- bioactive compounds
- molecular targets
- personalized nutrition strategies
- chronic disease prevention
- healthy aging
- nutrient interactions
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.
