Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds: Preventing and Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases and Disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s represent a growing global health challenge due to an aging population and limited therapeutic options. These diseases, characterized by a progressive loss of nerve cells and functional impairment, blur the boundaries between diseases with defined causes and disorders with complex, multifactorial causes. New research highlights the central role of nutrition in regulating brain health, with nutrients and bioactive compounds — such as omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, flavonoids and vitamins — acting as modulators of brain health and acting on cellular and molecular signalling pathways such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and protein aggregation and misfolding, which are key features of neurodegeneration. Epidemiologic evidence also shows that dietary habits reduce the risk of neurodegeneration, suggesting a preventive role. While pharmacologic interventions are often inadequate, dietary strategies offer a preventive and therapeutic opportunity to influence disease progression through accessible, scalable means. However, the exact mechanisms and effects on the population remain poorly understood. This research topic builds on the interface of nutritional science and neuroscience, at the molecular and cellular level, but also at the clinical, preclinical and epidemiological levels. It explores how diet-derived compounds can bridge the gap between prevention and treatment and offers hope for innovative, non-invasive approaches to an urgent medical crisis.

The increasing number of neurodegenerative diseases and disorders underscores a critical problem: current biomedical treatments are largely palliative, and preventive strategies remain unexplored. This research topic aims to bridge this gap by investigating how nutrients and bioactive compounds can serve as dual-purpose tools— - to prevent onset and improve treatment outcomes in neurodegeneration. The focus is on their cellular and molecular mechanisms — such as attenuating oxidative damage or improving synaptic integrity— - as well as their epidemiological relevance, e.g. the links between diet and disease in different populations. Despite the growing evidence of their neuroprotective potential, the mechanisms, optimal dosage and actual efficacy of these substances are not yet fully understood, limiting their translation into clinical practice. Our goal is to consolidate cutting-edge research to clarify these unknowns and develop a deeper understanding of how nutrition affects neuronal resilience and disease progression. By exploring molecular processes (e.g. Nrf2 activation by polyphenols) and epidemiologic trends (e.g. omega-3 intake and dementia rates), as well as integrating preclinical findings, clinical data and population studies, we aim to identify actionable dietary strategies that reduce risk and improve quality of life for those affected. These efforts will enable researchers to decipher molecular pathways, clinicians to refine interventions, and policy makers to promote nutritional guidelines to ultimately advance a holistic, nutrition-based paradigm to combat neurodegeneration — a distinctive focus that makes this topic stand out in the Frontiers in Nutrition landscape. This research topic examines the role of nutrients and bioactive compounds in the prevention and adjuvant treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, focusing on the cellular, molecular and epidemiologic dimensions of the full spectrum of disease. Specific topics include, but are not limited to: 1) Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection (e.g., antioxidant metabolic pathways, mitochondrial protection, synapse maintenance, etc.) 2)Efficacy of dietary interventions and adjuvant treatments (e.g. studies on specific bioactive

food supplements such as curcumin or resveratrol) 3) Epidemiological findings (e.g. dietary patterns and disease incidence in different cohorts) and preventive functions in at-risk populations 4) Interactions between nutrients and diseases (e.g. vitamins in dementia, polyphenols in Parkinson’s disease); and 5) hurdles in the translation of molecular findings to public health. We welcome original papers, reviews, clinical trials, and meta-analyzes that incorporate both cellular/molecular principles (e.g., how bioactives modulate inflammation) and epidemiologic findings (e.g., vitamin D and the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease) and bridge basic science and applied findings, with an emphasis on particular aspects such as multi-target compounds or novel delivery systems.

Manuscripts should be consistent with the interdisciplinary focus of Frontiers in Nutrition and provide rigorous, evidence-based findings that advance nutritional neuroscience beyond existing paradigms and appeal to both professionals and a broader audience in health science - Studies need to comply with the best practice guidelines of the leading journals for pharmacological studies on plant extract / natural products including the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology and follow the standards established in the ConPhyMP statement Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205. A detailed description of the material studied, its extraction and processing is essential and manuscripts which lack such a description will be desk-rejected. You can freely download the full version here. Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool: https://ga-online.org/best-practice/

Keywords: Nutrients, Bioactive Compounds, Preventing, Treating, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurodegenerative Disorders

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.