Plants: From Farm to Food and Biomedical Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Nature has always represented the richest source of food and medicines for mankind. Plants and herbs have been utilized for millennia as food and medicine and for cosmetic and ritualistic purposes. Several plant species have been well-known for their use in the treatment of pathologies and disorders since ancient times, such as Hypericum perforatum for depression, Artemisia annua for malaria, and Papaver somniferum for alleviating pain, whose bioactive components have been characterized and isolated. On the other hand, other species find their use in culinary preparations of all over the world, such as the aromatic Thymus and Salvia, or the now-famous spice Curcuma, widely used on the Indian subcontinent. Wild and cultivated plants used in food preparation are not devoid of medicinal properties, as demonstrated by a large mole of studies showing that essential oils and secondary metabolites from such species could represent potential novel drugs or food preservants. In this view, this Special Issue aims at gathering original research papers and review articles focused on the chemistry of medicinal and aromatic plants and their potential uses as novel sources of bioactive compounds or as ingredients for nutraceuticals and functional foods. Works dealing with the characterization of herbs and plants and isolated phytocompounds with potential uses in food preservation are also welcome. Papers should contribute significantly to furthering scientific knowledge in pharmacological and nutraceutical fields and food technology.

Dr. Gregorio Peron
Prof. Dr. Jan Hošek
Guest Editors

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