Cultivation Advances and Agronomic Approaches to Enhance the Phytochemical, Nutraceutical, and Pharmacological Value of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: pharmacognosy; natural products chemistry; natural extracts characterization; profiling; bioactivity; metabolomics; isolation; ethnopharmacology; food chemistry; molecular networking; cosmetics
Interests: aromatic plants and vegetable cultivation; development of strategies for plant nutrition and response to abiotic stress; soil-less culture; substrates and hydroponics; postharvest storage and processing of medicinal and aromatic plants; essential oil analysis and biocidal activity; evaluation of natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been used for centuries for their therapeutic and health-promoting properties. MAPs are now cultivated more intensively to meet growing demand across pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Research in recent decades has shown that cultivation methods, environmental conditions, and post-harvest practices significantly influence the production of bioactive compounds. This has shifted focus toward optimizing agronomic strategies to enhance the phytochemical and pharmacological value of MAPs. This Special Issue aims to explore how cultivation techniques, genetic resources, and environmental interventions impact the phytochemical profile, nutraceutical content and pharmacological properties of MAPs. Recent advances have demonstrated that cultivation and agronomic interventions can significantly enhance the yield and bioactivity of plant-derived compounds. Omics technologies and metabolic profiling are increasingly used to uncover the complex networks underlying plant biosynthesis. Additionally, interdisciplinary approaches reveal how cultivation parameters impact not only plant health but also the therapeutic potential of their extracts.
We welcome submissions on the following topics:
- Cultivation and agronomic practices to enhance phytochemical content and pharmacological activities.
- Mineral application and effects on secondary metabolites.
- Effects of growing conditions on phytochemical or nutraceutical content.
- Metabolomics and omics technologies in MAP research.
- Post-harvest and processing impacts on phytochemical or nutraceutical content.
- Climate-resilient and stress-adapted cultivation strategies.
- Sustainable or organic systems for high-value MAPs.
- Effect of cultivation on plant extract quality and biological properties.
Dr. Ekaterina-Michaela Tomou
Dr. Antonios Chrysargyris
Guest Editors
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. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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.
Keywords
- secondary metabolites
- specialized natural products
- metabolomics
- bioactive compounds
- pharmacological activities
- climate change
- nutritional value
- innovative cultivation practices
- soil/soilless cultures
- hydroponics
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