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Nutrients
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Neuroprotective Roles of Dietary Bioactive Compounds
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Neuroprotective Roles of Dietary Bioactive Compounds

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Neuro Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 1051

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Edward Bliss

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: cerebrovascular function; cognition; brain structure and function; cardiometabolic disease; chronic diseases; biomarkers; gut–brain axis; inflammation; oxidative stress; ageing; cardiorespiratory risk factors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Virginie Lam

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
2. Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Perth, WA, Australia
Interests: micro-nutrients; cognitive performance; brain function; vitamin D
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dean E. Mills

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: exercise physiology; clinical exercise physiology; rehabilitation; respiratory muscles; cerebrovascular function
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dietary bioactive compounds are increasingly being recognised for their multifaceted neuroprotective properties, offering promising avenues for preventing and managing a wide spectrum of neurodegenerative, neurovascular, and neuroinflammatory conditions. These compounds, such as polyphenols, including flavonoids, carotenoids, and omega-3 fatty acids, exert beneficial effects through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, endothelial-modulating, and neurodegenerative mechanisms. Emerging evidence suggests they may enhance cerebrovascular function, including cerebral haemodynamics, which is essential in sustaining cognitive performance and reducing neurological risk.

For this Special Issue, we invite original research articles and reviews exploring the mechanistic, clinical, and translational roles of dietary bioactives in supporting brain health. We welcome studies addressing bioavailability, gut–brain axis interactions, and the modulation of key risk factors such as oxidative stress, cerebrovascular dysfunction, metabolic and hormonal imbalances, neuroimmune activation, and mitochondrial decline. Contributions that integrate nutritional strategies into lifestyle or pharmacological interventions to enhance neuroprotection and resilience are particularly encouraged.

We look forward to receiving papers that advance our understanding of how nutrition-based strategies can complement pharmacological approaches and inform public health recommendations to ensure lifelong neurovascular and cognitive health.

Kind regards,

Dr. Edward Bliss
Dr. Virginie Lam
Dr. Dean E. Mills
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-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

  • neuroprotection
  • dietary bioactive compounds
  • cerebrovascular function
  • cognition
  • polyphenols
  • flavonoids
  • neuroinflammation
  • cardiometabolic diseases
  • gut–brain axis
  • brain structure and function
  • ageing
  • neurodegeneration

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

30 pages, 5159 KB  
Article
Garlic-Derived S-allylcysteine Improves Functional Recovery and Neurotrophin Signaling After Brain Ischemia in Female Rats
by Sandra Monserrat Bautista-Perez, Carlos Alfredo Silva-Islas, Maria-del-Carmen Cardenas-Aguayo, Obed-Ricardo Lora-Marín, Maria-del-Carmen Silva-Lucero, Arturo Avendaño-Estrada, Miguel A. Ávila-Rodríguez, Jacqueline V. Lara-Espinosa, Rogelio Hernández-Pando, Martha Menes-Arzate, José Pedraza-Chaverri, Omar Emiliano Aparicio-Trejo, Rosina Sánchez-Thomas, Alejandra Figueroa, Diana Barrera-Oviedo and Perla D. Maldonado
Nutrients 2026, 18(2), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020362 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 785
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, and neuroprotection therapies, or those that increase recovery, are not available. While the garlic-derived bioactive compound S-allyl cysteine (SAC) has shown neuroprotective properties, its subacute long-term effects remain underexplored, particularly in females. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, and neuroprotection therapies, or those that increase recovery, are not available. While the garlic-derived bioactive compound S-allyl cysteine (SAC) has shown neuroprotective properties, its subacute long-term effects remain underexplored, particularly in females. Methods: We evaluated whether SAC supports functional recovery after ischemia/reperfusion (IR), focusing on neurotrophin signaling, tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), protein kinase B (AKT), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Adult female Wistar rats underwent 1 h of ischemia and 15 days of reperfusion. SAC (100 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered at the onset of reperfusion and daily for 15 days. Motor and cognitive deficit tests were performed. Infarct area, Ki67, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nerve growth factor (NGF), pTrkB, pAKT, and pERK levels were quantified in the cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. Results: MicroPET analysis revealed comparable glucose uptake between the IR and IR + SAC groups, indicating similar ischemic severity. SAC reduced infarct area (54.7%) and significantly improved motor deficits (53.9%), circling behavior (38.9%), and long-term memory compared with ischemia/reperfusion (IR) animals. SAC increased the proportion of Ki67-positive cells (4.3-fold in the cortex and 1.8-fold in the striatum) and enhanced neurotrophin levels, NGF (cortex), BDNF (cortex and striatum), VEGF (striatum), pTrkB, pAKT, and pERK (cortex and striatum). Conclusions: SAC supports post-ischemic recovery, improving motor performance and preserving long-term recognition memory, effects that could be associated with increased cell proliferation, neurotrophin levels, and activation of the TrkB, AKT, and ERK pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroprotective Roles of Dietary Bioactive Compounds)
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