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Horticulturae
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Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation...
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Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation for a Sustainable Future in Food Systems

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Physiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2026 | Viewed by 3500

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Charalampos Proestos

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Guest Editor
Food Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Interests: antioxidants; bioactive compounds; essential oils; plant extracts; food chemistry; food analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Aleksandra Bajić

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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food; bioactive compounds; byproduct valorization; waste biorefinery; sustainable food processing; sensory analysis
Dr. Marijana Djordjević

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food development; plant-based ingredients; by-product valorization; bread making technology; bioactive compounds in bakery products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Miljana Djordjević

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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: functional food development; plant-based ingredients characterization; food industry byproduct valorization; bioactive compounds in sugar industry raw materials and byproducts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jelena Tomić

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Guest Editor
Fruit Research Institute, Kralja Petra I 9, 32000 Čačak, Serbia
Interests: fruit growing technology; effect of application of various agrotechnical measures (fertilization, pruning, irrigation, soil maintenance, rootstock, etc.) on productivity and fruit quality; influence of biostimulators on primary and secondary metabolites in fruits; antioxidative activity of fruit

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Health-conscious consumers are increasingly prioritizing minimally processed natural foods, with fresh commodities such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices recognized as important sources of nutraceuticals with health-promoting properties. Consumers are also choosing functional foods, which often incorporate bioactive compounds from these natural sources. In this sense, horticultural plants rich in secondary bioactive metabolites provide an abundance of natural compounds beneficial for the human diet. The journey from "field to fork" is influenced by various preharvest, postharvest and processing technologies, making phytochemical modulation vital to preserving the quality, quantity and functionality of bioactives in the final product.

This Special Issue welcomes studies focused on the characterization and profiling of bioactive compounds from a variety of horticultural plants, with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. It seeks to highlight the latest research advancements in preharvest and postharvest treatments of horticultural crops, particularly their impact on bioactives, and explore methods for optimizing bioactive enhancement. In addition, this Special Issue aims to identify significant nutraceuticals from horticultural plants and waste, which may be applied in various forms (e.g., extracts, ingredients) in functional foods and packaging materials, thereby contributing to the valorization and sustainable cultivation of horticultural plants and addressing waste reduction. 

Dr. Charalampos Proestos
Dr. Aleksandra Bajić
Dr. Marijana Djordjević
Dr. Miljana Djordjević
Dr. Jelena Tomić
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. Horticulturae 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 2200 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

  • secondary plant metabolites
  • bioactive compounds profiling
  • functional phytochemicals
  • phytochemical modulation
  • preharvest factors
  • posharvest factors
  • fruits and vegetables
  • herbs and spices
  • horticultural waste valorization
  • natural extracts
  • functional food
  • bioactive packaging

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2240 KB  
Article
Bioactive Compounds of Aqueous and Ethanol Extracts of Nance (Byrsonima crassifolia) and Their Bioactivity Against Selected Pathogenic Bacteria
by Renata Pamela Patiño-Hernández, Jose Irving Valdez-Miranda, Raúl Eduardo López-Hernández, Diana Maylet Hernández-Martínez, Graciela Castro-Escarpulli, Andres Saldaña-Padilla, Gustavo F. Gutiérrez-López, Patricia Rosales-Martínez and Maribel Cornejo-Mazón
Horticulturae 2026, 12(5), 616; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12050616 - 15 May 2026
Viewed by 454
Abstract
Nance fruits are produced worldwide in small cultivars and are valued for their characteristic aroma, flavor, and rich vitamins and fiber, as well as for their antioxidant characteristics. The use of herbal infusions in various communities is common, and considerable knowledge behind such [...] Read more.
Nance fruits are produced worldwide in small cultivars and are valued for their characteristic aroma, flavor, and rich vitamins and fiber, as well as for their antioxidant characteristics. The use of herbal infusions in various communities is common, and considerable knowledge behind such usage remains empirical. In this work, we investigated the bioactive profile of nance fruit pulp water and ethanol extracts obtained at various temperatures, as well as their feasibility to inhibit selected pathogenic bacteria strains and biofilm formation. The extracts showed a significant content of vitamin C that increased from 11 to 17 mg/100 mL when temperatures rose to 75–90 °C. Antioxidant capacity by DPPH• and ABTS•+ also increased with extraction temperature (75–90 °C), and phenolic compounds correspondingly depicted maximum values of 8.0 and 11.2 mg GAE/100 mL at the same temperatures. The higher values of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity at high extraction temperatures was possibly due to the disruption of cell walls and membranes at these temperatures that allowed for the release of bioactive compounds. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy bands indicated that the aqueous extracts of nance pulp contained a combination of hydroxyl, amide, and methylene functional groups, demonstrating the coexistence of phenolic compounds, amino acids, and lipids, which supported the presence of molecules with potential biological activity. Inhibition of microbial growth by aqueous extracts obtained at 20 °C was observed against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, and none of the extracts prevented biofilm formation against S. aureus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation for a Sustainable Future in Food Systems)
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16 pages, 1866 KB  
Article
Phenolic Profile of Acer tegmentosum Sprouts and Its Potential Relevance to In Vitro Antioxidant Activity
by Shi-Heon Kang, Doo-Hee Lee, Jajung Ku and Sanghyun Lee
Horticulturae 2026, 12(3), 328; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12030328 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Oxidative stress plays a central role in the development of chronic degenerative diseases, prompting growing interest in natural antioxidants, particularly phenolic compounds from early developmental plant tissues. This study investigated the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of Acer tegmentosum sprouts at the cotyledon [...] Read more.
Oxidative stress plays a central role in the development of chronic degenerative diseases, prompting growing interest in natural antioxidants, particularly phenolic compounds from early developmental plant tissues. This study investigated the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of Acer tegmentosum sprouts at the cotyledon expansion stage using integrated metabolite profiling and targeted quantification approaches. A. tegmentosum sprout extracts (ASE) were characterized by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for untargeted metabolite annotation and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the targeted quantification of selected phenolic acids and coumarins using authentic standards. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assays. LC–MS/MS analysis identified twelve phenolic compounds, including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, scopoletin, and their derivatives. HPLC results confirmed gallic acid (5.54 mg/g extract) as the predominant phenolic constituent, and the overall composition indicated a phenolic acid-enriched profile. ASE showed notable DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, with IC50 values of 376.40 and 311.00 μg/mL, respectively, although these activities were lower than those of ascorbic acid. Overall, these findings define the baseline chemical and antioxidant properties of ASE and identify analytically traceable marker compounds for standardization and functional material development. Further studies across different developmental stages and cultivation conditions are needed to verify generalizability and refine marker selection for quality control purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation for a Sustainable Future in Food Systems)
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19 pages, 1797 KB  
Article
From Agricultural Waste to Functional Tea: Optimized Processing Enhances Bioactive Flavonoid Recovery and Antioxidant Capacity with Multifaceted Health Benefits in Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) Flowers
by Mingzheng Duan, Xi Wang, Jinghan Feng, Xu Xiao, Lingying Zhang, Sijiu He, Liya Ma, Xue Wang, Shunqiang Yang and Muhammad Junaid Rao
Horticulturae 2025, 11(7), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11070766 - 2 Jul 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1791
Abstract
The large-scale disposal of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) flowers during fruit thinning represents a significant waste of bioactive resources. This study systematically evaluated how three processing methods—fresh (FS), heat-dried (HD), and freeze-dried (FD) treatments—affect the flavonoid composition and antioxidant capacity of loquat [...] Read more.
The large-scale disposal of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) flowers during fruit thinning represents a significant waste of bioactive resources. This study systematically evaluated how three processing methods—fresh (FS), heat-dried (HD), and freeze-dried (FD) treatments—affect the flavonoid composition and antioxidant capacity of loquat flower extracts, with the aim of developing value-added, sugar-free functional tea ingredients. Using UPLC-MS/MS and DPPH assays, we analyzed both pre-(FS/HD/FD) and post-extraction samples (FSP/HDP/FDP) to assess processing-specific metabolic signatures and extraction efficiency. The results revealed that heat-dried powder (HDP) exhibited the highest total flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging capacity (615.24 µg Trolox/g), attributed to enhanced release of stable compounds like quercetin. Freeze-dried powder (FDP) better preserved heat-sensitive flavonoids, such as catechin-(4α→8)-gallocatechin and naringenin, but showed lower overall antioxidant activity. Multivariate analysis confirmed distinct clustering patterns, with heat-drying favoring flavonoid extractability while freeze-drying maintained metabolic diversity. These findings demonstrate that processing methods significantly influence bioactive compound retention and functionality, with heat-drying offering optimal balance between yield and practicality for industrial applications. This work provides a scientific foundation for upcycling loquat flowers into standardized nutraceutical ingredients, addressing both agricultural waste reduction and the growing demand for natural functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Horticultural Plants and Plant Byproducts: Cultivating Innovation for a Sustainable Future in Food Systems)
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