Cutting-Edge Advances in Natural Bioactive Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to the upcoming Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, focused on "Natural Bioactive Compounds".

Natural bioactive compounds—found in foods, plants, fungi, and microorganisms—are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic and preventive potential. These compounds exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-cancer effects. Notable examples include curcumin, resveratrol, psilocybin, ergothioneine, and beta-glucans.

Plant-based substances like Taxol, derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree, have made a significant impact on modern oncology, finding successful use in chemotherapy. The development of antibiotics like penicillin, originally derived from molds, has revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections, saving countless lives. Other plant-based antibiotics, such as vancomycin and gentamicin play a crucial role in medicine, especially in treating severe infections caused by resistant bacteria.

This issue welcomes research on phytotherapeutics—plant-based substances long used in traditional medicine—and the expanding field of fungal-derived compounds. Substances like psilocybin, beta-D-glucans, and ergothioneine are now the subject of intensive study for their potential in immune modulation and cancer therapy.

We also encourage submissions on glycopolymers and glycoproteins, whose roles in immune response, cell communication, and therapeutic development are gaining scientific attention.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this dynamic and impactful field of molecular science.

Dr. Joachim Storsberg
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.