Nutrition as a Pharmacological Approach to Metabolic Disorders and Ageing

The field of nutrition pharmacology is emerging as a promising area of research, focusing on the role of food as a modulator of cellular signaling and its impact on health.
Recent studies have highlighted the potential of fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins to influence several cellular pathways that regulate complex biochemical processes, including gene expression, stress adaptation, and cellular senescence. These findings suggest that food can act as a true pharmaceutical tool, capable of reducing age-related disorders like cardiovascular diseases, immune dysfunctions, and cancer risks, as well as metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, particularly in genetically predisposed individuals.
Despite these advancements, the precise cellular mechanisms through which nutritional components and supplements exert their pharmacological effects remain poorly understood. Current research is limited by the complexity of the interactions between dietary elements and the body's biochemical networks, as well as the challenges in using traditional experimental models to study these effects. There is a pressing need for innovative approaches to unravel these intricate networks and to better understand the pharmacological potential of nutrition.

This research topic aims to elucidate the methodological challenges and recent advances in understanding how diet manipulation and dietary supplementation influence aging, age-related, and metabolic disorders, within a pharmacological framework. The objective is to explore the complex interplay between dietary metabolites, biochemical intermediates, and endogenous processes, including those mediated by the intestinal microbiota. By addressing these complexities, the research topic aims to identify the molecular and cellular events that are affected by nutrients and supplements and to develop new methodologies for studying these interactions.

To gather further insights into the pharmacological potential of nutrition, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- The role of specific nutrients and dietary supplements in modulating cellular signaling pathways.
- Advances in omics and mass spectrometry analysis for studying nutritional impacts on health.
- The influence of diet on the intestinal microbiota and its implications for metabolic health.
- Methodological innovations for disentangling complex biochemical networks affected by diet.
- Comparative studies on the effects of different dietary compositions on health span and metabolism.
- Challenges and limitations of current experimental models in nutrition pharmacology research.


All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version here). Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool, and follow the standards established in the ConPhyMP statement Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205). Please note the traditional context including the primary background and modern uses with supporting references must be included in the manuscript introduction. Purely in silico approaches using complex mixtures (extracts) are generally not considered.

Keywords: Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Amino acids, Food supplements, Omics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.