Dietary Bioactives: Exploring Immune, Gut, and Metabolic Health Pathways

The field of nutrition science increasingly recognizes the role of dietary bioactives, non-nutrient compounds in foods such as polyphenols, carotenoids, glucosinolates, omega-3 fatty acids, and metabolites from fermentation, in modulating physiological processes beyond basic nutrition. Current research highlights the complex interplay between dietary bioactives, the gut microbiome, immune regulation, and metabolic health. While animal and human studies demonstrate promising effects of these compounds on inflammation, barrier integrity, and metabolic homeostasis, findings can be inconsistent due to variations in food matrices, bioavailability, host genetics, microbiome composition, and methodological approaches. Ongoing research debates centre on the mechanisms of action, the translation of preclinical findings to human relevance, and how to best personalize and implement bioactive-rich diets. Despite significant progress, there remain key knowledge gaps concerning dose-response relationships, the influence of life stage and phenotype, biomarker validation, and the evidence base for dietary guidance and global health policy.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how dietary bioactive compounds affect immune pathways, gut health, and metabolic function at both cellular and systemic levels. The goal is to elucidate mechanisms by which these compounds modulate the gut-immune-metabolic axis, clarify how bioavailability and host–microbe co-metabolism shape biological outcomes, and translate this knowledge into practical dietary strategies. Key questions to be explored include: How do different bioactive classes and matrices impact gut barrier and microbial ecology? What immune and metabolic pathways are most responsive to specific bioactives? How do genetics, microbiome profiles, and phenotypic differences mediate response to bioactive interventions? And what are the implications for personalized and population-wide dietary recommendations?To gather further insights in the integrated understanding of dietary bioactives across immune, gut, and metabolic health pathways, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Bioavailability, metabolic transformation, and host–microbiome interactions of dietary bioactiveso Impacts of bioactives on gut microbiota composition, barrier function, and mucosal immunityo Mechanisms of inflammation, immunometabolism, and metabolic regulation by dietary bioactiveso Influence of genetics, life stage, and phenotype on bioactive efficacy and personalizationo Advances in methods: multi-omics integration, biomarker development, and causal inference in nutrition researcho Translation to functional foods, dietary guidance, clinical interventions, and public health strategieso Safety, tolerability, and regulatory considerations of bioactive-rich interventions Topic editors: Restituto Tocmo, Marie C Lewis Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76811/dietary-bioactives-exploring-immune-gut-and-metabolic-health-pathways