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Advances in Plant Bioactive Compounds
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Advances in Plant Bioactive Compounds

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 497

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tarek Alshaal

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Food Biotechnology, Albert Kázmér Mosonmagyaróvár Faculty, Széchenyi István University, H-9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary
2. Institute of Applied Plant Biology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Boszormenyi Street 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: soil–plant–microbe interactions; rhizosphere biology; molecular mechanisms of nutrient uptake; PGPR; abiotic stress physiology and adaptive responses in plants; biofortification and plant metabolic responses; biogeochemistry of trace elements and environmental contaminants; sustainable soil fertility and biostimulants; food biotechnology; prebiotics and synbiotic; bioactive oligopeptides; plant-based proteases; functional foods
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In addition to having substantial potential to improve human health, plant bioactive chemicals are a broad and chemically diverse class of secondary metabolites that are essential for plant defense, signaling, and adaptability. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and metabolic regulatory properties of these substances—which include polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, organosulfur compounds, phytosterols, and bioactive peptides—have drawn increasing scientific attention.

Highlighting recent developments in the identification, characterization, bioavailability, molecular processes, and therapeutic uses of plant-derived bioactives is the goal of this Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS). In vitro and in vivo studies addressing clinical evidence, omics-based methodologies, molecular targets, signaling pathways, gut microbiota interactions, and novel extraction, formulation, and delivery systems that improve stability and efficacy are all welcome, as well as original research articles and thorough reviews. Studies examining nutrigenomics, functional foods, synergistic effects, structure–activity correlations, and translational applications are particularly encouraged.

This Special Issue aims to offer a multidisciplinary platform to enhance our knowledge of plant bioactive compounds and hasten their development into functional ingredients, therapeutic agents, and evidence-based nutraceuticals by combining phytochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, food science, and systems biology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Tarek Ali Ahmed Ibrahim Alshaal
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

  • plant bioactive compounds
  • phytochemicals
  • polyphenols
  • flavonoids
  • terpenoids
  • alkaloids
  • antioxidants
  • anti-inflammatory activity
  • molecular mechanisms
  • signaling pathways
  • gut microbiota
  • bioavailability
  • nutraceuticals
  • functional foods
  • phytochemistry
  • omics technologies
  • structure–activity relationship

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 2321 KB  
Article
Rapid, Matrix-Dependent Changes in Polyphenols and Antioxidant Capacity of Methanol Plant Extracts During Short-Term Storage: Implications for Analytical Timing
by Attila Kiss and Tarek Alshaal
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(9), 3723; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27093723 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 294
Abstract
Throughout this study, the short-term stability of methanol extracts was evaluated in cases of 15 distinctive, antioxidant-rich plant materials over 3, 7, and 14 days under refrigeration (4 °C), dark room-temperature, and light-exposed room-temperature conditions. A great variability in the matrix-dependent stability of [...] Read more.
Throughout this study, the short-term stability of methanol extracts was evaluated in cases of 15 distinctive, antioxidant-rich plant materials over 3, 7, and 14 days under refrigeration (4 °C), dark room-temperature, and light-exposed room-temperature conditions. A great variability in the matrix-dependent stability of the antioxidants, as well as the pronounced impact of the implied storage conditions on their plausible degradation, was revealed and featured. Initial total polyphenol content (TPC) ranged from 50.50 ± 0.44 mg gallic acid (GAE)/g DW (rosemary) to only 0.02 ± 0.006 mg GAE/g DW (amaranth). After 14 days, pigment-rich vegetable extracts (basil, beetroot powder, spinach powder, dried onion, tomato powder, and yarrow tail) lost 86.2–89.2% of TPC and 80–99% of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) activity across all conditions, even under refrigeration. In contrast, for Lamiaceae species, markedly higher levels of the referred parameters were to be observed after 14-day-long storage. Decrease in TPC values was found to be 43.7% (rosemary), 50.6% (thyme), and 42.9% (oregano), respectively, while DPPH values were reduced by only 17–29%. Turmeric and walnut flour showed intermediate stability. Refrigeration consistently minimized the degradation of antioxidants (e.g., rosemary’s decrease in DPPH was only 20.3% at 4 °C vs. >70% under ambient conditions), while light exposure significantly accelerated losses of antioxidants in nearly all samples. Methanol extracts of many dietary plants, particularly pigment-rich ones, exhibit rapid and pronounced changes during short-term storage. Comparison with values obtained immediately after extraction shows that even brief storage can lead to substantial deviations. Although the current sampling intervals do not capture changes within the first hours, the results clearly indicate the need to minimize delays and standardize analytical timing to avoid underestimating phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. Moreover, these findings demonstrate that measured antioxidant properties are not solely inherent to the plant material but are strongly influenced by the extract matrix and methodological conditions. Consequently, antioxidant data should be regarded as matrix- and protocol-dependent, with important implications for their interpretation, comparability, and reproducibility across studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Bioactive Compounds)
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