From Food to Medicine: Applications of Natural Bioactive Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive compounds derived from foods and natural resources are gaining increasing attention for their potential to bridge nutrition and medicine. These compounds—including polyphenols, carotenoids, peptides, and polysaccharides—exhibit diverse biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective effects. Advances in food science and biomedicine have expanded their applications beyond functional foods to nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, highlighting their role in promoting human health and supporting sustainable food systems.

Recent progress in eco-friendly extraction technologies, advanced analytical methods, and omics tools has improved our ability to discover, characterize, and evaluate bioactives derived from plants, algae, fungi, and food by-products. At the same time, growing interest in structure–function relationships, bioavailability, and synergistic effects is paving the way for innovative formulations and therapeutic applications.

In this Topic, we aim to highlight recent advances and emerging trends in the discovery and application of natural bioactive compounds across food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical domains. We welcome the submission of original research and review papers on, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Discovery of novel natural bioactive compounds;
2. Structure–activity relationship studies;
3. Innovative formulations to enhance stability and bioavailability;
4. Translational applications of bioactive compounds from food to medicine.

Dr. Long Yu
Dr. Fan He
Topic Editors