Essential Oils in Food Safety and Human Health: Bioactive Phytochemistry, Mechanisms of Action, and Applications
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 257
Editors
Interests: bioactive natural compounds, particularly essential oils; evaluation of their cardioprotective, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory effects; application of nanotechnology-based encapsulation strategies to improve stability, bioavailability, and targeted drug delivery of natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: essential oils; nanoemulsions; clove essential oil; nanoencapsulation; essential oil nanoemulsions; physicochemical characterization; bioactivity evaluation; therapeutic potential
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Essential oils (EOs) represent a chemically complex and biologically versatile class of plant-derived secondary metabolites with profound implications for both food systems and human health. Despite decades of research, critical knowledge gaps persist in bridging the molecular chemistry of EO bioactive components with their mechanisms of action in food safety, functional food design, and clinically relevant health outcomes. The proposed Special Issue, titled "Essential Oils in Food Safety and Human Health: Bioactive Phytochemistry, Mechanisms of Action, and Applications," addresses three interconnected pillars: (1) the relationships between chemical structure and biological activity of individual EO bioactive constituents; (2) their roles in food preservation, food safety, and modulation of foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms; and (3) evidence-based applications in human health, encompassing anti-infective activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, cardiometabolic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action, gut microbiome modulation, and neuroprotective effects. The Special Issue welcomes original research and reviews on chemical profiling integrated with functional bioassays in food matrices; novel delivery platforms (nanoemulsions, encapsulation, and active packaging) validated in food and/or clinical contexts; in vitro-to-in vivo studies employing omics and computational tools to elucidate mechanisms of action; bioavailability and bioaccessibility data in physiologically relevant systems. Priority will be given to studies connecting chemical identity with biological function and real-world application, particularly for underexplored plant sources and emerging threats such as antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable diseases.
Dr. Mónica da Rocha Zuzarte
Guest Editor
Dr. José Nabor Haro González
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- essential oil bioactivity
- structure–activity relationships
- food safety and preservation
- antimicrobial resistance
- nanoemulsions
- encapsulation
- functional foods
- nutraceuticals
- mechanisms of action
- bioavailability and bioaccessibility
- active food packaging
- in silico molecular docking
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