Phytochemicals and Gut Health: Benefits and Mechanisms
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemicals and Human Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
Interests: gastrointestinal motility; visceral pain; functional foods; cannabinoids; irritable bowel syndrome; nutraceuticals; enteric nervous system; brain–gut axis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds found in plants, which play a key role in promoting gut health. These bioactive substances, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids, but also bioactive peptides and healthy dietary fats, exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects, among others, supporting gut health through different mechanisms of action, affecting the gut microbiota (e.g., through prebiotic effects), the gut wall components (e.g., mucosal healing, antispasmodic effects, etc.) and/or the gut connections with the rest of the body (via the modulation of important axes like the brain–gut axis, the endocrine–gut axis or the immune–gut axis). A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, rich in phytochemicals, may significantly improve gut health and contribute to overall well-being. New food technological strategies are being currently developed to optimize these benefits through new products. Beneficial interactions among different phytochemicals in the food matrix or in these new products are of particular interest.
This Special Issue aims to collect original studies, reviews and meta-analyses that may help to fully understand the impact of phytochemicals in gut health, as well as their mechanisms of action as isolated molecules or due to their interactions. We hope this Special Issue will provide new information to help design optimal, holistic, balanced, and robust functional food approaches to preserve gut health and to treat gastrointestinal conditions.
Prof. Dr. Raquel Abalo
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
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.
Keywords
- antioxidants
- brain–gut axis
- gastrointestinal tract
- immune–gut axis
- gut health
- polyphenols
- plant-derived bioactive peptides
- plant-derived dietary fats
- prebiotics
- phytocannabinoids
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
