About this Research Topic
Secondary metabolites, encompassing flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids, originate from the enduring evolution of plants through processes of acclimatization and natural selection. To interact with the environment, these compounds exhibit significant characteristics in color, taste, and aroma, which perfectly align with people's demand for beverages. Secondary metabolites in beverage plants not only provide unique flavors for beverages, but also substantially contribute to plant growth, e.g., as antioxidants in photoprotection and as a source of their health benefits. However, due to their sensitive disposition towards environmental variations, their content and metabolic patterns are subject to modification by factors like plant variety, soil, growth environment, horticultural practices, harvest season, processing technology, and storage conditions, which further leads to complex and diverse biosynthetic pathways of special metabolites in beverage plants. Therefore, metabolism, function, and regulation are important directions for studying secondary metabolites in beverage plants.
Recent advances in metabolomics and other systems biology technologies have revolutionized our comprehension of plant secondary metabolites. However, studies on the metabolism, functions, and regulatory factors of secondary metabolites in beverage plants remain limited. This Research Topic aims to delve into the latest findings on the identification and quantification of secondary compounds in beverage plants, explore the metabolism and regulation of secondary metabolites in beverage plants, further elucidate the biosynthesis mechanism of metabolism, and reveal more key factors regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in beverage plants. This will fill the gap between the chemical components of beverage flavors and human taste while further improving the sensory quality and health benefits of beverages.
We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Characterization and quantification of quality/bioactive compounds in beverage plants, such as tea, coffee, cacao, and other plant species
• Biosynthesis pathways of secondary metabolites
• Regulatory mechanisms of secondary metabolism in response to biotic/abiotic stresses
• The role of secondary metabolites in plant development and plant protection
• Biological activity, function, and medicinal properties of secondary metabolites on human health
• Biotechnology applications for yield and quality improvement, including tissue and cell culture, metabolic engineering, genome editing, etc
Recent advances in metabolomics and other systems biology technologies have revolutionized our comprehension of plant secondary metabolites. However, studies on the metabolism, functions, and regulatory factors of secondary metabolites in beverage plants remain limited. This Research Topic aims to delve into the latest findings on the identification and quantification of secondary compounds in beverage plants, explore the metabolism and regulation of secondary metabolites in beverage plants, further elucidate the biosynthesis mechanism of metabolism, and reveal more key factors regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in beverage plants. This will fill the gap between the chemical components of beverage flavors and human taste while further improving the sensory quality and health benefits of beverages.
We welcome submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Characterization and quantification of quality/bioactive compounds in beverage plants, such as tea, coffee, cacao, and other plant species
• Biosynthesis pathways of secondary metabolites
• Regulatory mechanisms of secondary metabolism in response to biotic/abiotic stresses
• The role of secondary metabolites in plant development and plant protection
• Biological activity, function, and medicinal properties of secondary metabolites on human health
• Biotechnology applications for yield and quality improvement, including tissue and cell culture, metabolic engineering, genome editing, etc
Keywords: secondary metabolites, beverage plant, metabolism, quality, tea, coffee, cacao
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
