Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products—Third Edition
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Interests: research of new anti-infectives; development of new strategies to fight antimicrobial resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to invite you to contribute to the third edition of the Special Issue entitled “Antimicrobial Properties of Natural Products—Third Edition”.
Indeed, the situation is still very worrying. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to increase all over the world. Securing effective antimicrobial treatments to manage patients and treat infections is becoming increasingly difficult, which unfortunately continues to result in a significant rise in the number of deaths.
Thus, the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) AR Threats Report estimated that “More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result” [1]. At the same time, estimates based on 2020 EARS-Net data indicate that each year more than 35,000 people die in the EU/EEA as a direct result of antimicrobial-resistant infections [2]. Therefore, it is still urgent to search for new antimicrobial molecules in order to have new therapeutic options for treating infectious diseases in humans. Concomitantly, natural compounds with antimicrobial activities continue to represent a potential source of new antimicrobial molecules that has not been sufficiently explored [3].
In this context, innovative research directions are also emerging, such as the AI- and metabolomics-guided discovery of natural antimicrobials, which integrates advanced computational and omics approaches, or the development of anti-virulence strategies targeting quorum sensing and biofilm disruption. Likewise, nanoformulations and novel delivery systems are being investigated to improve the stability, bioavailability, and targeted action of natural products, while synergistic combinations of natural compounds with existing antimicrobials hold promise in overcoming resistance mechanisms. Another exciting frontier is the exploration of marine ecosystems and extreme environments as unique sources of structurally novel antimicrobial agents, alongside host-directed and microbiome-modulating approaches that open new perspectives for infection control.
Hence, the aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the recent advances in research on natural products with antimicrobial properties (i.e., antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, etc.). This Special Issue may include original research articles and reviews on the antimicrobial properties of extracts, fractions, purified compounds, and synergistic mixtures against bacteria, viruses, or fungi encountered in human infectious diseases in order to identify promising natural compounds that could allow us to respond to the urgency of finding new antimicrobials.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
[1] CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/Biggest-Threats.html
[2] ECDC. Antimicrobial resistance in the EU/EEA (EARS-Net) - Annual Epidemiological Report 2023. Stockholm: ECDC; 2024. Available online at https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/antimicrobial-resistance-annual-epidemiological-report-EARS-Net-2023.pdf
[3] Lewis K. The Science of Antibiotic Discovery. Cell. 2020 Apr 2;181(1):29-45. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.056.
Prof. Dr. Raphaël E. Duval
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- natural products
- extracts
- fractions
- purified compounds
- antimicrobial properties
- bacteria
- virus
- fungi
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