Natural Compounds Extracted from Foods and Their Health Benefits

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue of Foods, we would like to collect papers dealing with the topic of natural compounds extracted from foods and their health benefits. In broad terms, the study of natural compounds and health may pay attention to different natural compounds extracted from foods, their characterization, potential health outcomes, their effects on disease biomarkers, and the possibility of the reduction of disease risk.

In modern times, medical advances and economic progress have brought with them an increase in the life expectancy and a greater concern about the composition quality of food we eat, and the potential health benefits from an optimized diet. Indeed, dietary factors are often related to the principal causes of death, such as cardiovascular (ischemic heart disease, stroke) and respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower respiratory infections) issues, as well as some types of cancer and type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that millions of cases of illness could be avoided every year with an adequate and healthy food intake and regular physical activity.

Natural compounds extracted from foods, such as nutrients or bioactive compounds, could have selective beneficial effects on one or multiple functions in the human body. In current food markets, health claims are important for the food industry and also for consumers, since companies can obtain a competitive advantage and consumers are better informed of the health benefits of the foods they eat. EFSA authorizes only health claims based on accepted scientific evidence, so further research is required to provide strong scientific evidence of the association between natural components extracted from foods and human health.

Topics may include, but are not limited to, the associations of natural components extracted from foods, their characterization, intake, and the role of biomarkers in health and the reduction of disease risk.

Prof. Dr. Virginia Fernández-Ruiz
Prof. Dr. Patricia Morales
Dr. Maria Ciudad-Mulero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

• natural compounds from foods
• health claims
• biomarkers
• reduction of disease risk