Dear Colleagues,

In the last decades, a huge amount of preclinical (i.e. in vitro and in vivo) studies indicated that phytochemicals and plant extracts exert a plethora of biological and pharmacological activities in cell cultures and animal models, though the evidence in humans is less substantiated and still fragmentary. Nowadays, we know that bioactive phytochemicals and herbal medicines possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant/prooxidant, cytotoxic and immunomodulating activities, inter alia, which make them promising cardioprotective, neuroprotective, anticancer, antidiabetes, antiobesity and antiaging agents. However, these natural products appear to be more effective in prevention than in treatment of chronic-degenerative diseases. This is the case of healthy diets rich in plant foods. Not least, phytochemicals can be used as adjuvants in association with conventional therapies in order to improve their efficacy, reduce their adverse effects, decrease the risk of selecting resistant microbial strains or cancer cells or even revert resistance (including radioresistance).

Within this broad context, this Special Issue welcomes contributes focusing on bioactive phytochemicals and botanicals, with an emphasis on their health-promoting effects. Therefore, we invite investigators to submit both original research and review articles that explore all these aspects.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marcello Iriti

Guest Editor