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The Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Potential of Phytochemicals

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: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1666

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. School of Food Science & Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
2. Food and Bio-Industry Research Institute, School of Food Science & Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Interests: phytochemicals; chemoprevention; antioxidant defences; anti-inflammation; hair growth; phase II enzymes; signal transduction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic inflammation is a key driver of various non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Increasing research has demonstrated that phytochemicals and dietary bioactive compounds—such as polyphenols, carotenoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids—can modulate inflammatory responses through diverse molecular mechanisms. These naturally occurring compounds, derived from a broad spectrum of plant-based foods, herbs, and functional ingredients, have shown the capacity to influence immune regulation, oxidative stress, and key signaling pathways including NF-κB, MAPK, JAK/STAT, and Nrf2.

This Special Issue invites original research articles and reviews that explore the anti-inflammatory potential of dietary compounds, from molecular mechanisms to clinical efficacy. Topics of interest include novel compound discovery, structure–activity relationships, bioavailability, metabolic transformation, and synergistic interactions among dietary components. Studies employing in vitro models, animal systems, human clinical trials, or advanced in silico approaches are all welcome. Through this issue, we aim to expand the understanding of food-derived compounds as modulators of inflammation and promote their development as therapeutic or preventive agents in chronic disease management.

Prof. Dr. Woo-Sik Jeong
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • phytochemicals
  • dietary bioactives
  • inflammation
  • natural compounds
  • functional foods
  • oxidative stress
  • cytokine modulation
  • NF-κB signaling
  • chronic diseases
  • plant-derived metabolites

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 12799 KB  
Article
Multi-Pathway Mechanisms of Engeletin in Ischemic Stroke: A Comprehensive Study Based on Network Pharmacology, Machine Learning, and Immune Infiltration Analysis
by Huiming Xue, Yuchen Wen, Jiahui Yang, Yue Zhang, Chang Jin, Bing Li, Yongxing Ai, Meizhu Zheng, Boge Wen and Kai Song
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(23), 11446; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms262311446 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1051
Abstract
Ischemic stroke (IS) is a leading cause of mortality and long-term disability, underpinned by complex molecular mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis. The flavonoid Engeletin exhibits promising neuroprotective properties, but its mechanism of action remains largely unknown. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Ischemic stroke (IS) is a leading cause of mortality and long-term disability, underpinned by complex molecular mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and apoptosis. The flavonoid Engeletin exhibits promising neuroprotective properties, but its mechanism of action remains largely unknown. In this study, we employed a systems biology approach, combined with artificial intelligence (AI), to uncover the multitarget mechanisms of Engeletin in IS. Potential targets were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction and PharmMapper and were found to intersect with IS-related genes from multiple disease databases. Functional enrichment analyses (GO/KEGG) revealed significant involvement in three classical neuroprotective pathways: PI3K-Akt-mTOR/Caspase/BCL2 (anti-apoptotic), TLR4/NF-κB (anti-inflammatory), and NRF2/KEAP1/HO-1 (antioxidant). Notably, we integrated six machine learning models (RF, SVM, GLM, KNN) to identify robust IS-specific biomarkers from the GSE22255 transcriptomic database. We used CIBERSORTx to characterize immune cell infiltration patterns in IS, revealing elevated populations of CD8+ T cells, M0 macrophages, and other PBMC-derived immune cells, suggesting the presence of an immunologically dynamic microenvironment. Molecular docking predicted favorable binding affinities of Engeletin to core targets (e.g., EGFR, IGF1R, KEAP1, JAK2). Finally, in vitro experiments using a Na2S2O4-induced PC12 cell model confirmed Engeletin’s efficacy in reducing oxidative stress, modulating calcium overload, and regulating apoptosis- and inflammation-related genes. Overall, our study establishes a comprehensive pharmacological mechanistic framework for Engeletin in combating IS and reveals the multitarget and multi-pathway neuroprotective mechanisms, thus providing preliminary support for using Engeletin in combating ischemic stroke. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Potential of Phytochemicals)
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