Discovery and Evaluation of Essential Oils with Pharmaceutical Potentials
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 257
Editors
Interests: chemistry of natural products; essential oils; gas-phase ion chemistry; structural elucidation
Interests: natural products; bioactive compounds; medicinal plants; omega 3 fatty acids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural product chemistry is an abundant source of biologically active compounds applied in various industries, particularly in the development of medicines, drug discovery, pharmacological products, the food industry, polymers, and more. Natural products contain unique metabolites like essential oils, alkaloids, saponins, neolignane, lignans, flavonoids, etc., which are produced by plants or marine organisms as part of their secondary metabolism. Throughout history, humans have utilized these compounds in traditional culinary and folk medicine practices, recognizing them as sources of beneficial substances that have a wide range of biological effects, such as antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting effects as well as antifungal properties, ultimate improving the quality of life for consumers. However, the rise resistance to commercial drugs has led to an increase in focus on discovering novel substances, particularly from natural products, that can aid in the treatment of traditional, neglected, and multi-resistant diseases. One of the classes of bioactive compounds that can be highlighted that may be used as an alternative to treat such diseases is essential oils. This class of substances have a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antiviral, antifungal, and immunomodulatory effects, which contribute to their therapeutic potential. Moreover, their ability to act synergistically with conventional drugs can enhance treatment efficacy while reducing side effects.
This Special Issue aims to gather original articles that highlight new methods, approaches, or trends, as well as the multiple applications of essential oils. Review articles are also encouraged, particularly those that address trends and challenges in analytical chemistry applied to natural products.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- New trends in the extraction, purification, isolation, and characterization of essential oils.
- Applications of essential oils as potential antimicrobial agents.
- Applications of essential oils as potential antifungal drugs.
- Applications of essential oils against tropical neglected diseases.
- The use of mass spectrometry as a tool for bioprospecting essential oils.
- Emerging trends in spectroscopic methods applied to dereplication of essential oils.
- Physicochemical analysis of essential oils as a tool for elucidating compounds in complex mixtures.
- Validating of analytical techniques used in the pharmaceutic industry.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Herbert Júnior Dias
Dr. Noelia Duarte
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 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. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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
- natural products
- spectroscopic methods
- spectrometric methods
- bioprospection
- structural characterization
- secondary metabolism
- volatile compounds
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