Mediterranean Plants Diversity: Chemical Characterization, Biological Activity and Application Fields

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change and the safeguarding of biodiversity represent two of the key environmental challenges of our time. The significant increase in average seasonal temperatures is affecting our climate. If not mitigated through targeted actions, these effects are likely to worsen in the coming years, with repercussions on our entire ecosystem, especially in light of the constant decrease in the biodiversity of flora and fauna, resulting in a general depletion of the natural resources on earth. During the course of evolution, plants have developed mechanisms of physical and chemical defense against various adverse environmental factors. Of these strategies, one of the most important is the production of secondary metabolites, which provide plants with greater resistance to biotic or abiotic stress. Plants are a valuable source of bioactive compounds, as well as minerals and carbohydrates (e.g., fructose or inulin). This enables their application in different sectors, such as the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.  

The Mediterranean basin is one of the world’s major centers of biodiversity. For this reason, collective commitment and action are required to preserve and enhance the genetic resources available in this part of the world. This Special Issue aims to contribute towards efforts to enhance Mediterranean plant biodiversity through research adopting multidisciplinary approaches so as to highlight the morphological and biochemical characteristics of different plant species and their potential applications.

We welcome submissions of all article types to this Special Issue, focusing on topics including, but not limited to, the keywords listed below.

Dr. Claudia Genovese
Dr. Nicola Cicero
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.

• bioactive compounds
• phytochemicals
• secondary metabolites
• phenolics
• flavonoids
• antioxidants
• carbohydrates
• minerals
• sustainability
• phytochemistry
• natural products
• chromatography
• extraction techniques
• climate change adaptation
• phytoremediation
• abiotic stress
• food and feed additives
• nutraceuticals
• biological sciences
• biodiversity
• biotechnological applications
• plant genomics
• plant and soil microbiome.