Editorial: Nutraceutical formulations and natural compounds for the management of chronic diseases

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The widespread of chronic diseases has improved the interest in nutraceuticals and natural bioactive compounds as complementary strategies for disease prevention and management. Food-derived bioactives can influence biological processes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, immune regulation, metabolic homeostasis, gut microbiota function, and cellular signalling. Consequently, nutraceutical research has expanded from the identification of promising phytochemicals to a multidisciplinary field involving food chemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, formulation science, epidemiology, and clinical medicine (1,2). However, the clinical translation of nutraceuticals and natural compounds remains limited. Poor bioavailability, inadequate formulation strategies, limited standardization of botanical preparations, regulatory heterogeneity, and the relatively small number of high-quality clinical studies continue to restrict their application (3,4). In addition, the multifactoriality of chronic diseases requires research approaches that combine robust mechanistic investigations with innovative epidemiological methodologies and well-designed clinical trials. Addressing these limitations requires better-standardized products, stronger evidence from clinical studies, and a closer connection between mechanistic and clinical research. In this context, the articles collected in this Research Topic address different aspects of these challenges, from the characterization of bioactive compounds and their mechanisms of action to formulation development, methodological advances, and clinical investigation.Over the past decade, nutraceutical research has expanded beyond the identification of biologically active compounds. Several contributions in this Research Topic highlight that natural compounds exert their biological effects through the modulation of multiple interconnected pathways, simultaneously influencing inflammation, oxidative stress, immune responses, metabolism, and other processes involved in the development and progression of chronic diseases (5). The review by Yu et al. provides an extensive overview of the pharmacological properties of flavonoids across a wide range of pathological conditions, including inflammatory signalling, apoptosis, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, and immune function (6). The review also highlights the need to preserve the structural integrity of bioactive compounds during extraction and processing to ensure quality, reproducibility, and 37 therapeutic efficacy. This multi-target activity may be particularly relevant to healthy aging, which is 38 influenced by the interplay between chronic low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial 39 dysfunction, and metabolic alterations. In this regard, Numa et