Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals in Health and Disease: Preclinical and Human Studies

In recent decades, the role of phytotherapeutics in the prevention and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases has been increasingly investigated and documented by a plethora of in vitro and in vivo studies. Herbal medicinal products are rich in bioactive phytochemicals such as polyphenols, carotenoids, phytosterols, glucosinolates and organosulfur compounds responsible for their efficacy as antimicrobial, anticancer, immunomodulating, antidiabetic, antiobesity, antiaging, cardioprotective and neuroprotective agents. However, although epidemiological observational studies have also focused on the association between regular plant food consumption and lower risk of chronic degenerative diseases, the preclinical evidence should be further substantiated by human intervention studies, in particular by randomized controlled trials at the top of the evidence-based pyramid. Furthermore, the oral bioavailability of phytochemicals, their pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) and safety (toxicity) should be much more investigated together with pharmacodynamics and mechanism of action. In this very wide context, we invite investigators to submit both original research and review articles that explore all these aspects.