Plant Secondary Metabolites Isolation, Interaction and Biological Activities

Dear Colleagues,

Plant secondary metabolites are a major natural source of active biological molecules that are commonly used for the treatment of bacterial, fungal, and cancer diseases. Plant natural products are mainly obtained from medicinal plants and other groups. These plants produce secondary metabolites (e.g., essential oil, catechin, anthocyanin) under a natural environment or normal field or greenhouse condition, stress conditions, and lab conditions (in vitro) such as in tissue cultures. Stress may modify the chemical and biological activities of plant natural productions. Modifications in secondary metabolite production quantity, quality, and type may have novel or even promising activities against known human pathogens as well as plant diseases. Controlling these diseases is the objective of the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries and human wellbeing. Further, plants evolved sophisticated and complex strategies to monitor and process a huge amount of information from the external environment as well as other organisms including neighboring plants. These interactions control their secondary metabolite interactions, which may have modern biological activities, such as weed biocontrol and crops enhancement.

This Special Issue of Molecules will contribute to knowledge of plant secondary metabolites’ isolation, interaction, and biological activities from several aspects, such as:

• In vivo and in vitro stress related plant secondary metabolite production;
• Discovery of plant secondary metabolites with biological activities;
• Modern tools in quantitative and qualitative analysis of secondary metabolites;
• Isolation and purification of plant secondary metabolites;
• Chemical modification of plant secondary metabolites;
• Biological activities of secondary metabolites (in vitro and in vivo);
• Interaction of plant secondary metabolites with the environment, including other plants and organisms.

Dr. Hosam O. Elansary
Dr. Agnieszka Szopa
Guest Editors

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