Therapeutic Potential of Bioactive Dietary Small Molecules and Natural Products: From Discovery to Mechanistic Understanding
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 41
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biochemistry; GPCR signaling; molecular pharmacology; molecular mechanisms of pharmacological action; cell biology; cancer research; drug design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biochemistry; polyphenols; molecular biology; cell biology; cancer research; drug design; steroids; GPCRs; immunology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Dietary-derived bioactive small molecules and natural products are an attractive and relatively unexploited source of therapeutic entities. Their potential to modulate metabolic, inflammatory, hormonal, and oxidative stress-related processes has attracted increased scientific interest in the setting of chronic diseases and complex disorders. For all their promise, however, the clinical development of these molecules is hindered by a paucity of mechanistic understanding and clearly defined molecular targets.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together recent progress in the discovery, characterization, and mechanistic investigation of bioactive dietary small molecules and natural products with potential therapeutic value. We invite original research contributions and thorough reviews that describe the discovery of novel bioactive molecules, structure–activity relationships, pharmacological profiling, and the application of in silico, in vitro, and in vivo models to understand their mechanisms of action. Research on nutraceuticals, functional foods, and the development of natural product-based drugs is also welcome.
Manuscripts based on contributions from fields like molecular pharmacology, nutritional biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, and systems biology are especially encouraged.
Dr. Athanasios A. Panagiotopoulos
Prof. Dr. Marilena Kampa
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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
- natural products
- dietary small molecules
- therapeutic agents
- mechanism of action
- nutraceuticals
- functional foods
- molecular targets
- pharmacological activity
- chronic diseases
- anti-inflammatory
- antioxidant
- metabolic disorders
- hormone-related diseases
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
