Dear Colleagues,

The focus of this Topical Collection is to investigate the mechanism(s) of action of natural molecules targeting mitochondria and being effective in preventing or counteracting human diseases.

Mitochondria functionalities are very important to maintain energy homeostasis, cellular metabolism, and to control cell stress responses. Mitochondria are the main intracellular source of reactive oxygen species and are very dynamic organelles because they respond to insults by fission or fusion, induce autophagy or apoptosis, and finally control cell life or death. Therefore, mitochondria fulfill great relevance in biomedicine. Indeed, their activity dysregulation results in pathological processes like inflammation, aging, carcinogenesis, and neurodegeneration.

In this scenario, many natural compounds are active in affecting specific mitochondrial enzymes, and in modulating the signaling from or to mitochondria. Thus, the mitochondrion represents an emerging target for molecules deriving from natural sources that can open in turn new therapeutic perspectives for the prevention and cure of metabolic disorders and other human diseases.
We welcome here submissions of studies on the effects of natural compounds on mitochondria and on their nutritional applications using molecular biology, as well as biochemical, cellular, and immunological methods.

Importantly, the exact active ingredient of a vegetable extract must be reported in the submitted research manuscript, since papers describing effects of mixed extraction from plants are not accepted.

Prof. Dr. Marta Menegazzi
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• natural products
• mitochondrial function
• mitochondrial dynamic
• metabolism
• energy homeostasis
• ROS
• inflammation
• cancer
• neurodegeneration
• aging, apoptosis