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Plants
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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Sustainable Research, Production and Utilization
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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Sustainable Research, Production and Utilization

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2026) | Viewed by 1246

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ákos Máthé

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Guest Editor
Albert Kázmér Faculty, Department of Water Management and Natural Ecosystems, Széchenyi István University, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary
Interests: plant ecology; phytochemicals; plant physiology; plant biotechnology; production of medicinal and aromatic plants; plant breeding; innovative use of plant biodiversity
Dr. Hanen Najjaa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Arid Regions (IRA), Medenine, Tunisia
Interests: valorization of medicinal and aromatic plants through the extraction and characterization of bioactive compounds; with expertise in phytochemistry; biological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, bioherbicide, etc.); natural products; drug discovery and innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) constitute an inexhaustible reservoir of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, alkaloids, terpenoids and essential oils, all recognized for their remarkable biological and functional properties. Their diversity and adaptability place them at the heart of efforts to address pressing global challenges such as health promotion, sustainable agriculture and resilience to climate change.

In recent years, advances in phytochemistry, biotechnology and pharmacology have greatly accelerated the discovery, characterization and valorization of natural products derived from MAPs, while also underscoring their ecological, cultural and socio-economic significance. This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative strategies for the sustainable research, production and utilization of MAPs. We welcome contributions that explore novel extraction and purification technologies, pharmacological profiling, industrial applications and sustainable cultivation and management practices.

By bridging traditional knowledge with modern scientific innovation, this Special Issue seeks to advance sustainable development and promote the transformative role of medicinal and aromatic plants in science, industry and society.

Prof. Dr. Ákos Máthé
Dr. Hanen Najjaa
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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 and aromatic plants
  • bioactive compounds
  • phytochemistry
  • biological activities
  • functional foods
  • cosmeceuticals
  • sustainable agriculture
  • climate change resilience

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 3194 KB  
Article
Chemical Profiling, Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Farsetia aegyptia and Zilla spinosa: Integrated In Vitro, In Vivo, and In Silico Studies
by Malek Besbes, Assia Hamdi, Kaouther Majouli, Mabrouk Horchani, Abeer Ayed Alshammari, Saoussen Jilani, Salwa Ahmed Lotfi, Ramzi Hadj Lajimi, Hichem Ben Jannet, Walid Ben Selma and Jamil Kraiem
Plants 2026, 15(4), 523; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040523 - 7 Feb 2026
Viewed by 777
Abstract
Plants are a rich source of active metabolites that have been used to treat inflammation troubles. The current study aimed to identify the analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds in Farsetia aegyptia and Zilla spinosa extracts. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using the xylene-induced ear [...] Read more.
Plants are a rich source of active metabolites that have been used to treat inflammation troubles. The current study aimed to identify the analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds in Farsetia aegyptia and Zilla spinosa extracts. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using the xylene-induced ear edema model in mice and the carrageenan-induced paw edema model in Wistar rats. Additionally, both central and peripheral analgesic effects were assessed in mice. The anti-lipoxygenase activity was examined through an in vitro enzyme inhibition assay. The phytochemical composition of the bioactive extracts was characterized using High-Resolution Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (HR-LCMS). The aqueous extracts of both species exhibited the strongest anti-inflammatory activity. The F. aegyptia extract showed inhibition percentages of 51.82% at 6.25 mg/kg and 51.14% at 0.78 mg/kg, while the Z. spinosa extract yielded 65.05% inhibition at 12.5 mg/kg and 56.14% at 1.56 mg/kg in the paw and ear edema models, respectively. These extracts also demonstrated significant analgesic activity and inhibited lipoxygenase, with IC50 values of 0.063 mg/mL for F. aegyptia and 0.072 mg/mL for Z. spinosa. HR-LCMS analysis revealed that the main constituent in Fa was malic acid (18.83%), while retronecine (19.03%) was the primary compound in Z. spinosa. Quercetin 3-[rhamnosyl-(1->2)-rhamnosyl-(1->6)-glucoside] was detected in both extracts with important proportions 7.87% in F. aegyptia and 8.29% in Z. spinosa and displayed the best docking score of −9.2 kcal/mol against the 5-lipoxygenase receptor (PDB: 3V99) in molecular docking studies. Overall, these findings indicate that F. aegyptia and Z. spinosa have significant potential as sources of novel anti-inflammatory agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Sustainable Research, Production and Utilization)
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