Microplastics and Human Health: Role of Food Nutrients in Metabolic Disorders
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2026 | Viewed by 43
Special Issue Editors
Interests: oxidative stress; nutritional antioxidants; hormesis; neuroprotection; inflammation; Nrf2 pathway; mitochondrial dysfunction; neuronal organoids; neurodegeneration; personalized nutritional therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: microplastics; nanoplastics; dietary nutrients; inflammation; apoptosis/pyroptosis/ferroptosis; antioxidant pathways; blood–brain barrier; intestinal epithelial barrier; neurotoxicity; metabolic disorders; central nervous system disorders; oxidative stress; inflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The impact of MNPs on human health is a growing concern. As these particles invade our environment, they can accumulate in the food chain undetected via various tissues such as the pancreas, spleen, liver, nervous system, and immune system, causing cytotoxicity, inflammation, and epigenetic damage, potentially contributing to the onset and progression of metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus and its complications. Food nutrients have gained notable attention for enhancing cellular stress resilience to plastic pollutants, particularly microplastics. These nutrients demonstrate the ability to modulate and mitigate Nrf2 signaling and stress resilience proteins as a cellular defense mechanism to counteract microplastic damage. Dysfunction of the Nrf2 pathway due to pollutants may lead to vulnerability under inflammatory states of diabetes and the onset of diabetic nephrophaty, neuropathy, and retinopathy. This can alter the permeability of the blood–brain barrier, intestinal epithelial barrier, and blood retinal barrier, thus promoting apoptosis, inflammation, and cellular toxicity due to the presence of MNPs in various organs. There are innovative in vitro models that can be used to identify specific MNPs associated with these pathologies and explore new dietary supplements to prevent or alleviate clinical symptoms. This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles that focus on the role of food nutrients in targeting several cellular and molecular pathways to regulate impaired barrier function and epigenetic modifications, exploring the underlying mechanisms of microplastic-induced damage and the risk of chronic diseases using innovative in vitro platforms, aiming at the development of promising preventive approches and personalized nutritional therapies in order to prevent or inhibit oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation, subsequently promoting human health.
Dr. Maria Scuto
Prof. Dr. Angela Trovato
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. Nutrients 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 2900 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
- nutrients
- microplastics
- metabolic diseases
- Nrf2 pathway
- epigenetic modifications
- organoids
- spheroids
- inflammation
- oxidative stress
- personalized nutritional medicine
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.
