Hot Topics in 2017 - Gut Microbiota, Whole Grains and Health.

Abstract

With the first issue of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (MNF) in 2017, we present a Special Issue on “Gut Microbiota” edited by Juan Carlos Espin. The gut microbiota composition is unique for each individual as humans have only one third of the bacterial species in common, showing that an individual's gut microbiota represent a fingerprint. Despite individual differences in composition, the functions of the gut microbiota show similarities with respect to impact on human health. Highlights of this Special Issue are emphasized in the Guest Editorial by Juan Carlos Espin. Later in the year a second Special Issue will be devoted to the topic “Health Effects of Whole Grains”. This issue will be edited by Shengmin Sang (North Carolina A&T State University, USA) and Rikard Landberg (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden) as Guest Editors. As the demand for whole grain products is continuously increasing all over the world, this issue will summarize recent findings and especially highlight the role of bioactive compounds in whole grains for human health. Relevant aspects will be covered, ranging from phytochemicals in grains, the impact of food processing on content and activity, to their in vivo effects. Most of our readers will be aware that MNF has developed extremely well with a current ISI Impact Factor of 4.551 and a 5-year IF of 4.7. This success has brought an ever-increasing workload for the Editor in Chief and Associate Editors as the number of submissions has more than doubled since 2009. For this reason we have decided, in agreement with the publisher, to transfer handling of the peer-review process to the Editorial Office. Starting 2017 a team of in-house editors led by Chris Mayer will take care of reviewer selection and invitation as well as manuscript evaluation and decision. This will allow the three of us to focus even more on vital strategic development of the journal in order to ensure that MNF continues to publish articles at the forefront of molecular nutrition research. Furthermore we would like to inform our readers about two new features which have been introduced this past year. All contributions will now feature graphical abstracts and short layman's summaries on Wiley Online Library. Image and text are designed to give readers an immediate understanding of the take-home message of the article. We have also started to highlight top articles on the journal cover, an exciting opportunity for authors that has been well received by the community. We would like to thank all of our authors, senior editors, members of the editorial board, and reviewers for their continued support and effort in achieving the high scientific quality and great success of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. We also thank especially Chris Mayer and all coworkers at the publisher for the productive and pleasant collaboration. Hans-Ulrich Humpf University of Münster Claus Schneider Vanderbilt University Medical School Jan Frederik Stevens Oregon State University