Analysis of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity in Native Plants: Characterization and Biological Effects

Dear Colleagues,

Since the origin of life on our planet, plants have played a fundamental role, serving as the foundation of nutrition and food chains over the course of natural evolution. Human civilizations have developed vast ancestral knowledge about the plants that sustain them, learning to cultivate and modify their environments to enhance production while improving sensory, chemical, and nutritional properties for both edible and medicinal purposes. This valuable knowledge has been passed down through the generations, shaping cultivation traditions, culinary and dietary practices, and medicinal preparations. But modern lifestyles threaten the preservation of this valuable ethnobotanical knowledge, and the benefits of native plants could be lost to future generations. Scientists need to investigate the medicinal and nutritional properties of such plants to maximize the sustainable use of natural resources.

Phenolic compounds are crucial to plant survival and have garnered significant interest in recent decades due to their biological effects on human health. Specifically, these bioactive compounds are widely recognized for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemopreventive properties, making them potentially valuable to the agro-industrial and pharmaceutical sectors.

Native plants, in particular, serve as rich sources of such compounds; yet, they remain largely underexplored because they are often considered the purview of “non-scientific” traditional cultures or not viewed as profitable in modern terms (even though they are often less costly to grow and more resistant to harsh conditions). There is still much to learn about the ways in which plant phenolic profiles and bioactive properties are influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors, including soil quality, climate conditions, nutrient availability, and water supply. Additionally, post-harvest processing methods—such as drying and extraction techniques—significantly impact the stability and yield of these bioactive compounds. Understanding the impact of all these variables is essential for optimizing processing and potential applications.

This Special Issue aims to publish research on the phenolic composition of native plants and their biological effects. We welcome studies focusing on the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity assessments, both in vitro and in vivo investigations, and research exploring the impact of biotic and abiotic factors on the production of bioactive compounds for applications in the food, medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors.

Dr. Jorge Luis Chávez-Servín
Dr. Aarón Kuri-García
Guest Editors

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