Plant-Derived Natural Products: Development and Utilization

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are an integral part of traditional medicine in the treatment of various diseases. Their numerous compounds and natural products continue to inspire the design, discovery, and development of drugs and nutraceuticals.

Understanding the complex chemical composition and biological activities of plant-based natural products is fundamental in fully utilizing their potential benefits for human health.

Furthermore, the current concept of the ‘one-disease-one-target drug’ is increasingly giving way to a new paradigm in which drugs targeting multiple human physiological pathways are preferable—a concept known as polypharmacology. In this context, the potential of plant-derived products, which comprise complex mixtures of numerous bioactive compounds, is further emphasized.

Developing efficient and safe plant-derived products is a challenging task that demands a multidisciplinary approach. This approach integrates knowledge from various fields such as botany, phytotherapy, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, biotechnology, legislation, and industrial pharmacy. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to provide an overview of the latest progress in these topics, supporting future discoveries and the development and the utilization of drugs and nutraceuticals that are derived from plant sources. Original research and review articles within this scope are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Suzana Branković
Prof. Dr. Dusanka Kitic
Dr. Jelena Živković
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

• plant extracts
• essential oil
• nutraceuticals
• natural products
• herbal medicine
• phytotherapy
• phytochemistry
• drug development