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

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. Foods 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.

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