Phytochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Plants—Health Care, Food Production and Green Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

In its different aspects, the chemistry of plant secondary metabolites can be considered an ancient discipline. From immemorial time, the human race has employed plants as a source of dyes, toxins, fibers, stimulants and medicines, particularly the primordial idea of finding healing powers in plants. With the development of biochemistry and plant physiology in the nineteenth century, the investigation of phyto-chemicals assumed the feature of a modern science based on an experimental and causal approach. With the aid of sophisticated chromatographic techniques coupled with a variety of spectral methods, the rate of structural identification has since increased exponentially, approximately 100,000 structures having already been described with many more yet to be discovered. It has been estimated that the total number of secondary metabolites in the plant kingdom alone exceeds the 500,000 mark. Nowadays, antioxidant properties of plant secondary metabolites are of particular interest due to the growing market demand for natural compounds and possible difficulties in the utilization of synthetic antioxidants and their likely toxic effects. Moreover, these antioxidant substances are of particular interest due to their reported ability to protect against many diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the growing need to employ sustainable low-impact and “green” practices in agriculture has brought to light studies regarding phytochemical employment as growth and development biostimulants and agents to control crop health, offering many application opportunities in organic and conventional farming.

This Special Issue of Plants aims to present advances in the research of phytochemicals in plants and their antioxidant properties, welcoming studies regarding the characterization of antioxidant properties from traditional plants in different world areas, advances in the studies of the impact of these substances on human health care, food and crop production and the agricultural employment of phytochemicals.

Dr. Alessandra Bonetti
Dr. Raffaella Petruccelli
Guest Editors

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