Medicinal, Aromatic and Edible Plants: The Link Between Pharmacy, Food and Nutrition

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid explosion of the human population and several changes in their life style reflect the epidemic increase of chronic diseases and associated pathological complications. As such, health has become the forefront of scientific research for finding novel foods and strategies to tackle such a public health burden. Food is not only intended to satisfy hunger and provide essential macro- and micronutrients for the body, but it can also supply bioactive ingredients that aid to decrease nutrition-related diseases and ensure physical and mental wellbeing.

Plants are an integral part of all living organisms of the earth, and medicinal plants are widely distributed worldwide. Since immemorial time, humans from all the cultures worldwide have independently selected plants as a food. Moreover, as a consequence of the intensification of the agricultural practices, several wild edible plants have been gradually excluded from daily diets, depriving the human body from a more diverse panel of plant phytochemicals. Furthermore, the widespread traditional uses of natural herbs and medicinal plants in curing and preventing diseases (nature’s pharmacy) are very well described in ancient texts. Different medicinal, aromatic, and edible plants are known to present antibiotic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hyperlipidemic properties, among others and several herbal derived products or dietary supplements are market-available today, being advertised for their health claims.

Contributions to this Special Issue may cover all research aspects related to medicinal, aromatic, and edible plants linking the gap between the triangle of pharmacy, food, and nutrition; characterization of biocidal activity and plant biocidal capacity, including (but not limited to) methods for their extraction, purification, comprehensive profiling characterization, and quantification; the elucidation of their mechanisms of action with focus on antiproperties (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, etc.); and improved methods for assessing bioactive components and their bioaccessibility. The recent advances in analytical approaches, -omic sciences, and biotechnology which are offering new and interesting insights into their characterization are also covered.

Dr. Lillian Barros
Dr. Antonios Chrysargyris
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andrei Mocan
Dr. Nikolaos Tzortzakis
Guest Editor

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