Plants and Plant-Based By-Products as Valuable Sources of Antioxidants: Current Tendencies and Achievements in Their Exploitation
A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Extraction and Industrial Applications of Antioxidants".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 2626
Special Issue Editors
2. Centre of Competence “Sustainable Utilization of Bio-Resources and Waste of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Innovative Bioactive Products” (BIORESOURCES BG), 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: lipids; fatty acids; acylglycerols; sterols; lipid analysis; antioxidants
Interests: free radical processes; antioxidant activity; kinetics and mechanism; lipid oxidation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants are involved in the defence systems of plants, playing a fundamental role in their adaptation as sedentary organisms to adverse environmental conditions, pathogens and pollutants. The stress-protective role of phytochemicals is an increasingly important topic and fully justifies the efforts and resources invested in their intensive research over decades. The huge amount of scientific publications on the antioxidant content and biological activity of various plant extracts has become a veritable springboard in the development of new technologies for the production of efficient dietary supplements, functional foods, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. The reduced use or, preferably, the replacement of organic solvents with harmless vehicles, and the advancement of green extraction methods are among the main priorities of chemical science and technology today.
Along with the scientific literature concerning plants as a source of bio-antioxidants, the number of studied plant-based by-products has reached drastic levels and is no longer limited only to residues of the sugar and oil industry, or olives, cereals, and wine production. Until now, plant by-products have mostly been used as animal feed or for composting; however, new processing techniques have been developed to address their exploitation for human nutrition and health as well. Food matrices such as husks, calyx, bran, peel, skin, etc., are a treasure trove, rich in antioxidants but still insufficiently studied and therefore underestimated and neglected.
The aim of this Special Issue is to present the current state of research and achievements, as well as promising perspectives for expanding antioxidant exploration, including the following:
- analysis of antioxidants in extracts of plants or their by-products;
- evaluation of antioxidant activity and/or oxidative stability;
- assessment of antioxidants for development of value-added formulations;
- green extractions of antioxidants;
- utilization of by-products as a key strategy in the circle economy.
Dr. Svetlana Momchilova
Guest Editor
Dr. Adriana Slavova-Kazakova
Guest Editor Assistant
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 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
- antioxidants
- oxidative stability
- antioxidant activity
- lipid oxidation
- green chemistry
- biomass
- plants and by-products
- herbs
- utilization
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