Advances in Bioactive Compounds and Functional Foods
A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Metabolism".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 October 2026 | Viewed by 808
Editors
Interests: secondary metabolites; polyphenols; plant metabolic engineering; functional foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environment; food security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue is dedicated to the wide diversity of bioactive compounds occurring in nature, and to their role in the development and design of functional foods.
Bioactive compounds encompass a wide range of chemically diverse molecules, including both primary and secondary metabolites derived from plant sources. In their native biological context, these compounds play essential roles in plant growth, development, reproduction, and defense mechanisms. Due to their natural occurrence in plant-based foods, they are also integral components of the human diet.
From a functional perspective, bioactive compounds exhibit a variety of physicochemical properties that underpin their biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-aging, and anticancer, among others. These properties have stimulated significant interest in their application within the food and nutraceutical sectors.
Functional foods enriched with bioactive compounds can be developed through multiple strategies. These include the extraction and recovery of target compounds from raw food matrices or agro-industrial by-products, followed by their incorporation into food systems as supplements, nutraceuticals, or fortified whole foods. Advanced formulation approaches—such as encapsulation techniques, nanotechnology-based delivery systems, microbial biotechnology—are increasingly employed to enhance the stability, bioavailability, and efficacy of these compounds.
In addition, the enrichment of foods in bioactive compounds can be achieved at the primary production level. Strategies such as biofortification, the application of agronomic practices aimed at eliciting secondary metabolite biosynthesis, varietal selection and breeding programs, as well as modern genetic and metabolic engineering approaches, can modulate specific biosynthetic pathways. These approaches ultimately contribute to the development of foods with enhanced nutritional, organoleptic, and health-promoting properties.
For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions addressing topics regarding the bioactive compounds, their isolation and characterization, plant biosynthesis and metabolic pathways, their role in biodiversity, or their application in functional foods, including studies aimed at elucidating their biological activities, mechanisms of action, and functional properties associated with their presence in food systems.
Dr. Aurelia Scarano
Dr. Teodoro Semeraro
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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
- secondary metabolites
- metabolic processes
- functional foods
- biodiversity
- nutritional applications
- biological activities
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