Flavonoids and Chronic Metabolic Diseases

The increased global incidence of chronic metabolic diseases has become one of the greatest health threats worldwide. Chronic metabolic diseases primarily include obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular and liver diseases. They can exist independently and interact with each other, reducing life quality and leading to a high risk of death. Over the past decades, continuous efforts have been contributed to the prevention and treatment of chronic metabolic diseases. Thereinto, flavonoids have been reported as a potential candidate. Flavonoids, characterized by a common C6-C3-C6 structure, are found ubiquitously in plants and are recognized as beneficial components in human diets. There are still some research gaps to be fulfilled in the future, for instance, recent data reported that the health effects of polyphenols were not directly reflected in the form of polyphenols, but via the changes in gut microbiota composition, function, and metabolites. Moreover, the application of omics (e.g., metabolomics, genomics, and proteomics) in this field might offer a better and deeper understanding than traditional methods.

This Research Topic aims to enhance the knowledge of the functions of flavonoids toward the prevention and/or control of various chronic metabolic diseases, including the application of emerging technologies and tools (e.g., omics) to reveal the underlying mechanism by which flavonoids employ their beneficial effects.

We welcome submissions of original research or review articles related to this topic, including but not limited to the following:
· Identify new types/sources of flavonoids with enhanced beneficial effects;
· Unraveling the action mechanisms of flavonoids on chronic diseases, especially by using omics to reveal the signaling pathway, such as MAPKs/NF-κB pathway;
· Structure-activity relationship between flavonoids and chronic diseases;
· The role of gut microbiota in the protective effects of flavonoids on chronic diseases.