Climate Change and the Nutritional Quality of Food Plants: Bioactive Compounds, Functional Foods, and Chronic Disease Prevention

Climate change is transforming the biochemical landscape of global food plants. Rising temperatures, elevated CO₂ levels, drought, salinity, and ultraviolet radiation disrupt traditional growth conditions, reshaping both macronutrient and micronutrient profiles of crops and wild edible species. These stressors not only reduce yields but also activate secondary metabolic pathways, increasing the production of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, betalains, terpenes, and alkaloids that have well-documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic effects relevant to human health. Recent studies demonstrate that while extreme conditions can compromise food quantity, they often enrich the nutritional and functional properties of the remaining harvest. Yet, the relationship between environmental stress, bioactive synthesis, and nutrient bioavailability remains underexplored. A particular gap concerns underutilized and traditionally consumed species from arid and semi-arid regions, which show remarkable resilience and phytochemical diversity but are seldom integrated into mainstream food and health research. A deeper understanding of these plant responses is crucial for linking climate adaptation to improved nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases.This Research Topic aims to synthesize evidence on how climate stressors reshape the nutritional and bioactive composition of food plants, and to clarify the implications for human nutrition and chronic disease prevention. It will serve as a platform connecting food chemistry, phytochemistry, food technology, and clinical or preclinical nutrition science. The goal is to move beyond reductionist studies of isolated compounds, emphasizing the plant and its environmental context as the central analytical unit. By doing so, the Topic will foster research that integrates the resilience of crops with their health-promoting functions, particularly focusing on neglected and indigenous food plants from climate-vulnerable ecosystems.The Topic encompasses the study of food plants and their derivatives under environmental stress, limited to research that examines nutritional value and health outcomes in humans or model systems.To gather further insights into this interface of climate adaptation, bioactive composition, and disease prevention, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Effects of abiotic stress (drought, heat, salinity, elevated CO₂, UV) on macro- and micronutrient profiles of edible plants and derived foods.o Climate-driven modulation of dietary bioactives such as polyphenols, flavonoids, betalains, terpenes, alkaloids, and curcuminoids.o Phytochemical and nutritional characterization of underutilized, wild-harvested, or traditionally cultivated food species, especially from arid and semi-arid regions.o Evaluation of functional foods and nutraceuticals from plant-based sources with proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, or metabolic benefits.o Investigation of dietary bioactives in relation to chronic disease prevention including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.o Postharvest, processing, and fermentation strategies that preserve or enhance bioactive content under climate stress.o Transfer of plant bioactives along the feed-to-food chain and their implications for human nutrition.o Ethnobotanical and traditional knowledge approaches for identifying climate-resilient, nutrient-rich species.o Valorization of food-system by-products as new sources of dietary bioactives.o Contributions of climate-resilient, functional food plants to sustainable diets and the achievement of UN SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).Article types welcomed include Original Research, Clinical Trials, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Methods, Perspective, and Hypothesis & Theory papers. Topic editors: Joyce Trujillo, Victoria Ramírez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80889/climate-change-and-the-nutritional-quality-of-food-plants-bioactive-compounds-functional-foods-and-chronic-disease-prevention