Featured Reviews on Bioactive Flavour and Fragrance Compounds
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Flavours and Fragrances".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 77960
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food safety and food quality; metabolomics; food chemistry; chromatography; mass-spectrometry; nutraceuticals; novel foods; methods of extraction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: medicinal chemistry; small-molecules; essential oils; naturally-occurring compounds; NAD-dependent enzymes; plant secondary metabolites; bioactive-active fractionation; phytochemicals; ethnopharmacology; biological activity of natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The plant secondary metabolism relies on thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which play important roles in plant physiology and defense systems. They are synthesized in the cell plastid and cytosol by specific enzymes and chemically characterized as terpenoids and aromatic and aliphatic compounds. VOCs are obtainable under a liquid, hydrophobic form named ‘essential oil’, through the classical techniques of steam- and hydrodistillation and cold pressing, although unconventional extraction techniques have also recently been used. In addition to affecting the sensory qualities of foods, cosmetics, and perfumes, VOCs are currently considered important mediators of biological activities. The fragrance industry produces hundred thousand tons of essential oils every year, which are designed for perfume manufacturing. However, they have shown an interesting potential of use in other sectors such as food, agriculture, and pharmaceutics. Nevertheless, only a little part of them is devoted to replacing the use of currently marketed pesticides and to supporting agriculture in facing environmental challenges.
As a result of the worldwide population’s growth (which is expected to rise from 7.5 to 10 billion by 2050), FAO recently released a document where they forewarn that a significant increase in agriculture production would be recommended to meet the future demand for food. The yield of grain crops has already reached a “plateau”, and the indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides has caused serious problems with environmental pollution and food safety. In addition, global warming will be responsible for progressive exposure of soils to degradation and loss of fertility and will play an important role in the spreading of plant pathogens responsible for frequent epidemics. In this scenario, VOCs represent a natural, eco-sustainable, and ecofriendly strategy to enhance future smart agriculture while preserving the environment, natural resources, and human health. However, the high costs associated with scalability, formulation, and marketing may represent their limit, which may affect the initial investments. On the other hand, restrictive legislation on the use of chemical pesticides and the current increasing attention of the food and agrochemical industries on sustainable and ecofriendly solutions could attract significant investments, thus making VOCs more appealing.
On this basis, this Special Issue is designed to gather review papers dealing with the potential of VOCs in agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical applications through the study of their extraction and characterization, evaluation of their biological properties, and development of targeted delivery systems (e.g., micro and nanoemulsions).
Dr. Domenico Montesano
Dr. Riccardo Petrelli
Guest Editors
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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
- Essential oils
- Agriculture
- Food
- Formulations
- Crop protection
- Insecticides
- Extraction techniques
- Chemical characterization
- Biological activity
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.