Bioactive Compounds from Plants: From Discovery to Biomedical Application
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: antioxidants; chemoprevention; anticancer; oxidative stress; plant extracts; plant polyphenols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants are rich in phytochemicals including polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, alkaloids, and terpenes, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and neuroprotective activities. However, translating these resources into clinical applications requires efficient extraction methods, chemical characterization, mechanistic understanding, bioavailability assessment, and validation through in vitro and in vivo models.
Moreover, the global food industry generates vast amounts of plant-derived by-products—such as peels, seeds, pomace, and husks—which are often discarded as waste, despite being rich sources of bioactive compounds. In recent years, the circular economy paradigm has driven a growing interest in the recovery and valorization of these materials, transforming them from environmental burdens into valuable resources for biomedical applications.
This Special Issue aims to serve as a platform for sharing cutting-edge findings on bioactive compounds from plants and plant-derived by-products. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications covering a broad spectrum of topics, including but not limited to:
- Bioactive extracts from terrestrial and marine plants;
- Valorization of agri-food by-products as sources of bioactive phytochemicals;
- Green and sustainable extraction technologies;
- Chemical profiling and structural elucidation of bioactive compounds;
- In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo evaluation of biological activities;
- Mechanistic studies on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties;
- Bioavailability, toxicology, and safety assessments;
- Development of pharmaceutical or nutraceutical formulations;
- Circular economy approaches to plant by-product utilization
We cordially invite researchers working at the interface of natural product chemistry, pharmacology, food science, and materials science to contribute to this Special Issue.
Dr. Dimitrios Stagos
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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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 extracts
- plant by-products
- bioactive compounds
- phytochemicals
- extraction
- biomedical applications
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