New Perspective on Inflammatory Diseases: Role of Natural Compounds

Dear Colleagues, 

Inflammation is a defence mechanism triggered by the immune system in response to injury and infection. However, chronic and uncontrolled inflammation can contribute to a variety of diseases including diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune disorders.

Anti-inflammatory drugs allow managing pain and inflammation. However, they show therapeutic limitations, including limited effectiveness for underlying conditions, dosage dependence, individual variations, and side effects. The inflammatory drugs can cause a wide spectrum of side effects, sometimes severe enough to make the risk–benefit ratio unfavourable. In this context, natural compounds, derived from the vegetable matrix or produced by prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells, possess a wide range of biological properties, including anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities.

The present Special Issue, entitled "New Perspective on Inflammatory Diseases: Role of Natural Compounds", of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences focuses on natural compounds' anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, highlighting the strategies for improving their selectivity and efficacy. Therefore, original research articles and reviews proving the protective effect of natural compounds against inflammatory-based diseases are welcome. Specifically:

• Nanotechnology-based delivery systems for natural compounds (polymer nanoparticles, crystal nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), liposomes, dendrimers, and micelles) improving their bioavailability or efficacy;
• Natural anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents able to counteract the inflammatory state;
• Anti-inflammatory combinatorial treatments: synergistic interaction between natural compounds and conventional drugs;
• Bioinformatic analysis to identify natural compounds mediating the anti-inflammatory activity and reveal the molecular mechanism underlying the natural compounds' effects.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Floriana D'Angeli
Prof. Dr. Carlo Genovese
Dr. Cristina Russo
Guest Editors

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• natural compounds
• immunomodulatory activity
• anti-inflammatory activity
• synergistic effect
• nanotechnologies
• delivery systems
• bioinformatic analysis