Functional Components and Bioactivity of Edible Plants
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 March 2026 | Viewed by 39
Special Issue Editor
Interests: tea; bioactive compounds; functional ingredients; phytochemicals; phenolic compounds; nanotechnology; targeted delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants have long been consumed not only as food sources to satisfy hunger but also as supplements of essential nutrition and bioactive compounds. With the growing global interest in natural, health-promoting bioactive compounds, the exploration of functional components in plants has gained significant momentum. This Special Issue focuses on the discovery, characterization, and functional evaluation of bioactive compounds found in various plant sources.
Key functional components in plants—such as polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, and plant peptides—have demonstrated a broad spectrum of bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective effects. Understanding the structure–activity relationships, mechanisms of action, and potential applications of plant bioactive compounds is essential for developing functional plant-based foods, nutraceuticals, and therapeutic agents. The discovery and investigation of functional components of edible plants also provide a novel approach to utilizing plants in a high-value-added fashion.
This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in the extraction, identification, and biological assessment of plant-derived functional ingredients, as well as their implications for health promotion and disease prevention. The submission of interdisciplinary studies that bridge phytochemistry, pharmacology, food science, and nutrition is welcome.
Dr. Qiang Chu
Guest Editor
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. Plants 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
- plant-based ingredients
- bioactive compounds
- functional components
- health benefits
- phytochemicals
- edible plants
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