Molecular Mechanisms of Phytochemicals in Antioxidation, Antimicrobial, and Cytoprotective Properties
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 2181
Special Issue Editor
Interests: antimicrobial assays; biological activities of natural products; herbal extracts; antimicrobial resistance; zoonotic bacteria
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants are acknowledged as valuable sources of phytochemicals; while these plant-based bioactive compounds are produced by plants for their protection, they are increasingly evaluated for their intense multifaced pharmaceutical potential. The antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating, antitumoral properties (selective toxicity, chemoprotective), are well documented for several phytochemicals such as carotenoids, polyphenols (flavones, anthocyanidins and anthocyanins), isoprenoids, phytosterols, saponins, polysaccharides, curcuminoids etc. As such, numerous multidisciplinary studies have been aiming at identifying and screening biologically active compounds to develop therapeutics and nutraceutical products. A pivotal aspect of this research field is represented by a detailed understanding of the molecular targets and mechanisms of action (inhibitory, modulatory, regulatory, etc.), as well as of the interconnected pathways.
This Special Issue welcomes original research papers and critical reviews on the molecular mechanisms supporting phytochemicals’ antioxidative, antimicrobial and cytoprotective activities.
Submissions should be related to themes including, but not restricted to, the following:
- Identification and characterization of phytochemicals originating from various sources;
- In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the bioactive properties and health effects of phytochemicals;
- Insights into the molecular action mechanisms supporting the pharmacological properties of the identified phytochemicals;
- Phytochemicals’ current and potential applications.
Dr. Mihaela Niculae
Guest Editor
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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
- phytochemicals
- antioxidant
- antimicrobial
- cytoprotective
- in vitro screening
- in vivo evaluation
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