Functional Foods, Obesity and Gut Microbiota: Mechanisms and Interventions
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Prebiotics, Probiotics and Postbiotics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2026 | Viewed by 896
Editor
Interests: probiotics; functional foods; fermentation; food biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder driven by multifactorial interactions among dietary factors, host physiology, and the gut microbiota. Increasing evidence indicates that functional foods play an important role in modulating obesity-related metabolic outcomes, largely through their effects on the composition, function, and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota. However, the mechanistic pathways linking functional food components, microbial responses, and host metabolism remain incompletely understood.
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive and mechanistic perspective on the interactions between functional foods, gut microbiota, and obesity. We welcome original research articles and critical reviews that elucidate how bioactive components in functional foods, such as probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, dietary fibers, polyphenols, peptides, and other microbiota-accessible substrates, regulate host energy metabolism, lipid and glucose homeostasis, immune function, and intestinal barrier integrity through microbiota-mediated mechanisms.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, functional food–microbiota interactions, microbial-derived metabolites, fermented foods, and microbiota-targeted dietary interventions for obesity prevention and metabolic regulation. Studies employing multi-omics approaches, controlled animal models, and well-designed human intervention trials are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Bo Zhang
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- gut microbiota
- probiotics
- Bifidobacterium
- diet-induced obesity
- metabolic health
- functional foods
- diet–microbiota interactions
- fermented dairy products
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