Safeguarding Bee Health: Novel Insights Into Toxicological Threats, Pharmacological Interactions, and Protective Strategies
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 43
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bee health; apiculture sustainability; honeybee pathology; varroa control; veterinary medical clinic and pharmacology; ethnoveterinary practices (natural and ethnobotanical treatments)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ethnobotany and traditional botanical knowledge; medicinal and aromatic plants; phytochemistry and plant-derived bioactive compounds; cross-cultural comparative ethnopharmacology; plant–animal interactions in traditional resource management; biocultural diversity and indigenous knowledge systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on emerging threats to bee health posed by combined pesticide exposures and on novel protective strategies, including the administration of natural products. The scope encompasses mixture toxicology, pharmacological synergism and antagonism, detoxification mechanisms, and phytochemical-based interventions. The purpose is to present high-quality research that moves beyond single-pesticide risk assessments toward realistic, mixture-based approaches, while showcasing evidence-based mitigation tools for beekeeping. A thematic issue is particularly appropriate because recent studies have revealed unexpected synergistic interactions that are not predictable from single-compound data alone. The Special Issue is highly timely, as regulatory bodies increasingly require mixture risk assessments and the European Green Deal urgently calls for effective pollinator protection strategies. To address these challenges, this Special Issue will explore diverse intervention strategies, ranging from dietary supplementation with phytochemicals and nutraceuticals to the modulation of detoxifying enzymes and the pharmacological antagonism of pesticide target sites.
The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Sublethal and lethal effects of single and combined pesticides on bee physiology, behavior, and survival across Apis and non-Apis species (e.g., bumblebees, solitary bees);
- Mechanistic studies on detoxification enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450, esterases) and target-site sensitivity;
- Pharmacological antagonism and how natural compounds may counteract pesticide toxicity;
- Field-relevant exposure scenarios and risk assessment of pesticide mixtures;
- Protective strategies using plant-derived phytochemicals (polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenes) in apiculture and pollinator conservation.
Publishing these papers together will provide a cohesive, impactful resource bridging toxicology, pharmacology, and apicultural practice.
Dr. Roberto Bava
Dr. Carmine Lupia
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
- bee health
- pesticide toxicity
- mitigation strategies
- natural products
- environmental pollution
- phytochemicals and nutraceuticals
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