Bioactive Compounds and Functional Properties of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
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 18
Special Issue Editor
Interests: medicinal and aromatic plants; crop science; antimicrobial activity of essential oils
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Currently, there is an increased interest worldwide in the use of cultivated medicinal and aromatic plants. The demand for medicinal plants used in pharmaceutical products, health products, food supplements, and cosmetic products is increasing. The raw plant material from medicinal plant crops is insufficient to cover the needs of this industry. The cultivation of medicinal species is a significant activity at the global level, as the chemical compositions of medicinal plants can vary depending on geographical location, climate, and cultivars, influencing their biological and therapeutic properties. Even though they are controlled genetically, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is highly influenced by environmental and agronomic conditions, resulting in variations in the qualitative and quantitative content of bioactive compounds in the plant raw material. Thus, other processes, such as harvesting and processing, also influence the chemical profile of the vegetal material. It is essential to harvest medicinal species at the moment when they reach their maximum concentration of active compounds, thereby providing a high-quality raw product.
Biologically active features of compounds with antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, or immunomodulatory effects are increasingly attracting scientific interest.
In accordance with research efforts to identify and valorize new sources of active principles for the food and pharmaceutical industries, this Special Issue will bring together research articles and original reviews which address different aspects of the biological effects of natural extracts, such as the following:
- Evaluation of the biologically active, antioxidant, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties of the natural extracts and their compounds;
- Applications of the bioactive compounds extracted from natural sources in the food and pharmaceutical domains;
Chemical characterization of the volatile compounds from natural extracts.
Prof. Dr. Georgeta Pop
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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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
- medicinal plants
- natural extracts
- bioactive compounds
- biological activity
- chemical composition
- human health
- animal health
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