Functional Foods and Gut Microbiota: Pathways to Combat Chronic Inflammation

Nutrition and gut microbiota research has increasingly highlighted the microbiome as a central mediator of metabolic and immune homeostasis. Disruptions in microbial composition and function have been associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic non-communicable diseases, although the factors driving these associations and their implications across populations remain incompletely understood. Functional foods containing polyphenols, dietary fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, fermented ingredients, and other bioactive compounds may influence microbial diversity, metabolite production, intestinal barrier integrity, and systemic inflammatory pathways. Epidemiological studies and dietary intervention trials suggest potential benefits, but findings remain heterogeneous because of differences in dietary patterns, population characteristics, microbiota assessment methods, and inflammatory biomarkers. Important questions remain regarding which foods and compounds produce reproducible effects, whether microbiota changes mediate improvements in health outcomes, and how these relationships vary across demographic, geographic, and clinical contexts. Integrating nutritional epidemiology with microbiome science may help address these gaps and clarify the relevance of mechanistic findings for population health.This Research Topic aims to examine how functional foods and their bioactive constituents modulate gut microbiota composition and function, inflammatory pathways, and chronic disease risk at the population level. It will consider evidence from prospective cohorts, cross-sectional and case–control studies, randomized and non-randomized dietary interventions, and other human investigations. Key objectives include identifying associations between functional food intake, microbial diversity, microbial metabolites, and inflammatory markers; evaluating the consistency and clinical relevance of these effects across populations; and determining whether microbiota-related mechanisms help explain improvements in metabolic and immune health. Where relevant, high-throughput sequencing, metabolomics, biomarker assessment, and experimental studies will be used to support and contextualize population-level evidence rather than serve as primary endpoints.To gather further insights into the relationship between functional foods, gut microbiota, chronic inflammation, and non-communicable disease prevention, this Research Topic will focus primarily on human population-level evidence while welcoming complementary mechanistic research. Themes include, but are not limited to:- Polyphenol-rich foods and their effects on gut microbial ecology- Dietary fibre, prebiotics, and microbial short-chain fatty acid production- Omega-3 fatty acids, fermented foods, and other functional food components- Gut microbiota diversity, resilience, and microbial dysbiosisIntestinal barrier function and gut-derived inflammatory signalling- Microbiota-associated biomarkers of metabolic and immune health- Associations between functional food intake and obesity, type 2 diabetes, or cardiovascular disease- Dietary intervention trials and precision nutrition approaches Topic editors: Kommi Kalpana, Wiktoria Staśkiewicz-Bartecka Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84873/functional-foods-and-gut-microbiota-pathways-to-combat-chronic-inflammation