Bioactive Molecules and Their Health Impacts: From Antioxidants to Therapeutic Potentials

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive molecules derived from natural, dietary, microbial, and synthetic sources are increasingly recognized as pivotal modulators of eukaryotic cellular physiology and human health. Beyond their well-established antioxidant properties, compounds such as polyphenols, peptides, lipids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and microbial metabolites engage defined intracellular targets including enzymes, transcription factors, membrane receptors, and redox-sensitive proteins through direct binding or selective chemical modification. By modulating post-translational processes and redox-dependent signaling events, these molecules orchestrate interconnected regulatory networks and epigenetic programs.

In eukaryotic cells, these biochemical interactions influence mitochondrial bioenergetics and dynamics, oxidative stress responses, autophagy, proteostasis, cell cycle control, apoptosis, and immune cell polarization, thereby reshaping metabolic adaptation and stress resilience. Concurrently, bioactive compounds affect microbial metabolism, quorum sensing, biofilm formation, and antimicrobial resistance, contributing to the regulation of host–microbiome crosstalk and systemic disease susceptibility.

This Special Issue will provide a multidisciplinary platform to advance understanding of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms, cellular targets, and therapeutic potential of bioactive compounds. We welcome original research and comprehensive reviews spanning mechanistic investigations, multi-omics and systems biology approaches, computational modeling, innovative delivery strategies, antimicrobial and antibiofilm interventions, host–microbiome interactions, and translational preclinical and clinical research. By integrating molecular insights with applied research, this Special Issue will advance next-generation preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Alessandro Attanzio
Dr. Marilena Briglia
Guest Editors

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