Advances in Molecular Research of Functional and Nutraceutical Food 2017

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the bioactive molecules, commonly known as "bioactive compounds", which are nutritional constituents that naturally occur in small quantities in foods and plants, and show different health benefits. In recent years, the study of these molecules has been one of the main activities for developing functional foods and nutraceuticals. However, bioactive compounds vary widely in chemical structure and function, which still pose some methodological challenges even for current state-of-the-art technologies.

Indeed, metabolic syndrome is one of the metabolic disorders and it is one of the most serious problems of the last decades. Metabolic syndrome is a multiplex risk factor that produces an increase of blood pressure and blood sugars, an excess body fat, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. All these factors contribute to an increase of risk of heart disease, fatty liver, diabetes and several cancers. Lifestyle change and weight loss are considered the most important initial steps in treating metabolic syndrome. However, it has been noticed that some plants, food and food by-products bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, reported strong potential bioactivity against the metabolic syndrome and the effects are strictly related to the bioactive compounds profile, their content and biological activity.

This Special Issue, “Advances in Molecular Research of Functional and Nutraceutical Food”, will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles about the composition and content of bioactive compounds in functional food and nutraceuticals, including studies about metabolomic approaches. We are particularly interested in articles describing the new analytical strategies identification of new bioactive compounds, the use of new methodologies for chemical and/or in vitro and in vivo analysis of bioactive compounds guided to the study of diseases related to metabolic syndrome.

Prof. Dr. David Arráez-Román
Dr. Ana Maria Gómez-Caravaca
Guest Editors

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