Chemical Identification and Biological Activity of Plant Phenolic Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

Plant phenolic compounds represent one of the most structurally diverse families of natural products, and their chemistry underpins a wide spectrum of reported biological activities relevant to food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biomedical applications. Their significance is growing as research trends increasingly connect rigorous chemical identification (structure elucidation, profiling, quantification, and authenticity control) with reproducible bioactivity assessment and mechanism-oriented interpretation in complex matrices such as plant extracts, foods, and formulated products.

At the same time, the field faces persistent challenges: (i) analytical complexity due to isomers, conjugates, oxidation products, and matrix effects; (ii) variability introduced by genotype, environment, processing, and extraction; and (iii) the need to align biological claims with well-characterized chemical entities and standardized workflows. Addressing these gaps creates clear opportunities for chemistry-centered advances in extraction, separation science, spectroscopic-/spectrometric-based identification, metabolomics, computational annotation, and the development of reference materials, while also supporting food-relevant research focused on the stability, functionality, and performance of phenolic compounds in food-related matrices—areas that strongly align with the scope of the Molecules journal.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the chemical identification, structural characterization, and biological activity evaluation of plant phenolic compounds, spanning both pure compounds and complex phenolic-rich extracts. We consider contributions addressing state-of-the-art analytical strategies (targeted and untargeted), robust structure confirmation, quantitative method validation, and chemically grounded links between phenolic composition and biological performance, including mechanistic insights and structure–activity relationships.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Extraction, fractionation, and purification of phenolic compounds (green solvents, process intensification, scalability).
• Advanced analytical characterization (e.g. HPLC/UPLC, LC–MS/MS, HRMS, NMR, hyphenated and orthogonal approaches).
• Metabolomics and chemometrics for annotation, authentication, and quality control of phenolic profiles.
• Structure elucidation of new or understudied phenolics (including glycosides, oligomers, and oxidation products) and establishment of reference standards.
• Quantification, method validation, and inter-laboratory comparability (accuracy, precision, uncertainty, matrix effects).
• Structure–activity relationships and mechanism-informed bioactivity studies (e.g. antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, enzyme inhibition, cytoprotective effects), with clear chemical attribution.
• Phenolic transformations during processing, storage, digestion, or formulation (stability, reactivity, bioaccessibility, metabolite identification).
• Delivery systems and formulation chemistry for phenolics (e.g. encapsulation, complexation, controlled release) linked to chemical stability and activity outcomes.
• Food-matrix applications of phenolic compounds, clarifying their roles in stability and functional performance (e.g., thermal/oxidative stability, structural integrity, and controlled release), while maintaining a clear link between phenolic chemistry and bioactivity.

Dr. Oscar Forero-Doria
Guest Editor

Dr. Christina Mitsi
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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