Sensory Nutrition and Health Impact on Metabolic and Brain Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

The interplay between sensory nutrients has gained considerable attention for enhancing stress resilience in health and disease. Sensory nutrition, including food extracts, polyphenols and bioavailabile polyphenol-combined nanoparticles, as well as vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, have shown to improve blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability, intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) and blood renal barrier (BRB) homeostasis and ultimately brain function, thus inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation and neurotoxicity linked to the pathogenesis of metabolic and nervous system disorders. Interestingly, polyphenols display biphasic dose–response effects by activating, at the minimum dose, the Nrf2 pathway and the downstream antioxidant proteins, heme oxygenase-1 upregulated by curcumin and sirtuin-1 activated by resveratrol to block reactive oxygen species (ROS). The impaired of tight junctions due to environmental pollutants and the deregulation of Nrf2 signaling may exacerbate selective susceptibility under neuroinflammatory conditions to the onset of diabetes and the progression of its neurological consequences such as anxiety, depression and autism, as well as neurodegeneration due to the vulnerability of sensory neurons to apoptosis and oxidative stress. This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles focused on sensory nutrition targeting several cellular and molecular pathways to regulate impaired tight junctions and epigenetic alterations, and explore the underlying mechanisms using innovative in vitro and in vivo technologies for the development of promising protective strategies and precision and personalized nutritional therapies in order to prevent or attenuate oxidative stress, apoptosis and inflammation, and subsequently promote human health.

Dr. Maria Concetta Scuto
Guest Editor

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• sensory nutrition
• oxidative stress
• inflammation
• apoptosis
• blood–brain barrier dysfunction
• Nrf2 pathway
• neurodegenerative disorders
• neurodevelopment disorders
• personalized nutritional therapy