Functional Foods as Vehicles for Bioactive Compounds: Chemical and Nutritional Perspectives on Health and Disease Prevention.

Functional foods are a central paradigm in modern nutrition science, acting as effective vehicles for the delivery of bioactive compounds that link conventional nutrition and preventive medicine. Beyond their basic nutritional role, these foods are specifically designed or naturally enriched to convey biologically active constituents capable of modulating physiological functions and reducing the risk of chronic diseases, thereby supporting long-term health maintenance. The chemical composition of functional foods-including polyphenols, phytosterols, vitamins and dietary fibers-underlies their capacity to act as matrices that protect, transport, and enhance the bioavailability of bioactive molecules. This review provides an integrated nutritional perspective on functional foods, with particular emphasis on their role as delivery systems for health-promoting compounds. The molecular mechanisms by which food bioactives interact with cellular and molecular targets, regulate oxidative stress and inflammation, and modulate metabolic and immune pathways are critically discussed. Special attention is devoted to redox-active bioactives, the structural diversity and bioavailability of polyphenols, the cholesterol-lowering properties of phytosterols, the physiological relevance of fat- and water-soluble vitamins, and the complex interactions between functional foods, gut microbiota, prebiotics, probiotics, and dietary fibers. Overall, this review aims to provide a comprehensive scientific framework for understanding how functional foods can be strategically engineered and utilized as bioactive compound vehicles in health promotion and disease prevention.