Nutritional and Therapeutic Metabolites from Ethnomedicine and Agri-Food Sources: Emerging Research and Applications

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 282

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
IFAS/Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA
Interests: natural product chemistry; metabolomics; food analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive metabolites derived from ethnomedicinal plants and agri-food sources play a pivotal role in modern health sciences due to their diverse nutritional and therapeutic properties. As the global interest in natural health-promoting metabolites continues to grow, the integration of ethnopharmacological knowledge with food science opens up promising avenues for innovation in nutraceuticals, functional foods, and preventive medicine. This Special Issue aims at advancing scientific understanding and foster translational applications in nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and functional nutrition. It highlights the nutritional and therapeutic potential of natural active metabolites, emphasizing their role in disease prevention, health promotion, and novel drug discovery. For this upcoming collection, we invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and short communications that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants and agri-food sources;
  • Ethnobotanical strategies for identifying nutritionally significant plant-based bioactive metabolites;
  • Functional foods and dietary supplements derived from ethnobotanically significant plant species and agricultural crops;
  • Mechanistic studies on the health effects of plant-derived bioactive metabolites;
  • Recent advances in extraction, formulation, and delivery systems for plant bioactive metabolites;
  • Characterization of nutritional and therapeutic compounds using metabolomics approaches;
  • Clinical and preclinical evaluation of food-derived bioactive metabolites in disease management.

Dr. Mamadou Aliou Balde
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant-based metabolites
  • metabolomics
  • natural products
  • functional food development
  • ethnomedicine
  • therapeutic metabolites
  • agri-food by-products
  • green extraction technologies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1040 KB  
Article
The Impact of Canopy Position on the Biochemical, Nutritional, and Nutraceutical Quality Characteristics of Grapefruit Cultivars During Fruit Growth and Development
by Meryam Manzoor and Muhammad Akbar Anjum
Plants 2026, 15(11), 1750; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15111750 - 4 Jun 2026
Abstract
Citrus fruit quality traits are governed by canopy position, harvest maturity, and cultivar, influencing nutritional and nutraceutical profiles. Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) is recognized for its antioxidant-rich, health-promoting properties; however, limited information exists on how canopy microclimate interacts with developmental stages to [...] Read more.
Citrus fruit quality traits are governed by canopy position, harvest maturity, and cultivar, influencing nutritional and nutraceutical profiles. Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) is recognized for its antioxidant-rich, health-promoting properties; however, limited information exists on how canopy microclimate interacts with developmental stages to affect nutritional-quality attributes. In a two-year study, four grapefruit cultivars (Rio Red, Star Ruby, Shamber, and Flame) were evaluated to determine the effects of canopy position (outer vs. inner) and harvest time on biochemical characteristics, antioxidant potential, and pigment accumulation under subtropical conditions in Pakistan. Fruits were collected monthly from August to December (6–10 months after anthesis; MAA). The results demonstrated that canopy position and harvest time had pronounced effects on fruit quality. Outer canopy fruits presented higher total soluble solids, ripening index, sugars, pigment accumulation, and antioxidant compounds across development stages. Fruit quality improved with maturity, and peaked in mid-December with maximal total soluble solids, ripening index, sugars, and pigment content accumulation. Overall, all the cultivars showed similar profiles in the change in fruit quality traits during growth and development. Rio Red and Star Ruby outperformed Shamber and Flame across most traits, highlighting cultivar-specific differences in metabolite accumulation. Together, canopy microclimate, harvest maturity, and cultivar are key determinants of bioactive–nutritional quality traits in grapefruit. In practice, managing canopy exposure and harvest windows with cultivar choice enhances health-promoting metabolites and nutritional quality, with added gains in commercial value and tree productivity. Full article
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