Biological properties and potential biomedical applications of plant extracts, essential oils and secondary metabolites from natural products.

In the last years a re-evaluation of essential oils, natural extracts as well as secondary metabolites derived from plants or their parts have attracted researchers attentions operating in the field of phyto-therapeutic medicine for their multifaceted abilities spacing from anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antimicrobial and anti-viral actions. Many investigations have been made with the aim to identify new potential lead compounds to apply, alone or in combination, as preventive or supportive therapy for the treatment of some human pathologies. Several studies have provided evidence that many essential oils or natural extracts derived from medicinal plants offer a plethora of effective antioxidants with potential in the prevention or in the treatment of inflammatory, degenerative or tumor diseases. Among the main antioxidant components present in plant or their parts (root, bark, flowers, leaves ect.), polyphenols represents a class of naturally-occurring phytochemicals, some of which are able to modulate many distinct physiological and molecular pathways involved in different pathological conditions. We invite investigators to contribute to this Special issue with an original paper on their recent findings or a review putting together experimental data and critical points of view on the biological properties and biomedical applications of phytochemicals, essentials oil or plant derived extracts.

21/01/2025