Functional Dietary Components, Gut Microbiota, and Host Health: Interaction Mechanisms and Innovative Product Development

Dear Colleagues,

Functional dietary components, such as bioactive compounds, dietary fibers, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics, play crucial roles in maintaining host health and preventing chronic diseases. Increasing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota acts as a key intermediary between diet and host physiology, influencing metabolic homeostasis, immune modulation, and even neurobehavioral functions. The interaction between functional dietary components and the gut microbiota has, therefore, emerged as a central topic in nutritional science and health research. Understanding these complex mechanisms provides important opportunities for the development of innovative functional foods and personalized nutrition strategies. However, our current understanding of how functional dietary components regulate the gut microbiota and its derived metabolites to affect host health remains limited. Major challenges include identifying the specific microbial taxa, metabolites, and molecular pathways that mediate these beneficial effects, as well as establishing causal relationships between dietary interventions and physiological outcomes. Furthermore, translating mechanistic insights into practical applications, such as targeted product development, microbiome-based dietary interventions, and personalized nutrition, requires comprehensive and integrative research approaches.

This Research Topic aims to gather the latest studies that elucidate the interaction mechanisms between functional dietary components, gut microbiota, and host health, and to promote innovative research on the design and development of functional foods. Understanding how dietary components shape gut microbial ecosystems and influence host biological processes will provide a strong scientific basis for the next generation of microbiome-targeted nutritional strategies.

We welcome submissions of Original Research, Full Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives that focus on, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. Individual differences in gut microbiota response to functional dietary components and their implications for host health.
2. Identification of key microbial taxa, metabolites, and signaling molecules mediating the effects of dietary components on health outcomes.
3. Application of high-throughput multi-omics (metagenomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, etc.) and advanced bioinformatics approaches (e.g., systems biology and artificial intelligence) to elucidate diet–microbiota–host interactions.
4. Molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of metabolic, immune, and neurophysiological pathways by microbial metabolites.
5. Translational research on the development of innovative functional foods, probiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics targeting gut health.
6. Integration of microbiome science into precision nutrition approaches for disease prevention and health promotion.

Dr. Zhenjun Zhu
Guest Editor

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• prebiotics
• probiotics
• postbiotics
• gut microbiota
• host health