Antioxidant Activity and Disease-Modifying Potential of Medicinal Herbs

Dear Colleagues,

Evidence has demonstrated that oxidative stress is an important factor contributing to the initiation and progression of many disorders, such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Oxidative and nitrosative stress are the imbalance between the generation and elimination of free radicals, caused by the elevation of intracellular radical levels or a decrease in the activities of intracellular antioxidant defence system. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), major free radicals in the human body, attack biomolecules, such as proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and nucleic acids, and then leads to intracellular oxidative damage and apoptosis. Oxidative stress also can activate/inhibit cytosolic protein kinase members, for instance, the MAPK pathway or PI3K/AKT pathway, and then modulate a variety of enzymes, including pro-apoptotic regulators, detoxifying and antioxidant proteins, and transcription factors. Minimizing the redox imbalance may be one of the most important approaches in the prevention of these diseases. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals, which initiate and propagate oxidative chain reactions, and thus prevent intracellular oxidative damage. Many herbs contain natural antioxidants, such as phenols, flavonoids and phenylpropanoids. These herbs and natural antioxidants have been revealed to possess multiple pharmacological activities, including neuroprotective and anti-aging activities, via their antioxidant properties.

We invite you to submit your latest research findings or a review article to this Special Issue, which will bring together current research concerning the antioxidant activities of medicinal herbs or their phytoconstituents, and their cellular signalling mechanism in disease-modifying potential. This research can include both in vitro and in vivo studies relating to any of the following topics: Antioxidant activity of medicinal herbs or their phytoconstituents; disease-modifying potential of medicinal herbs or their phytoconstituents; and the role of cell signalling pathways in disease-modifying potential of medicinal herbs or their phytoconstituents.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Chi-Rei Wu
Prof. Li-Wei Lin
Prof. Hung-Chi Chang
Guest Editors

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. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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.

• Medicinal herbs
• Antioxidant activity
• Cell signalling
• Phytochemistry
• Oxidative stress
• Diseases