Guidelines and practical considerations for liquid or gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based studies in Phytochemistry Ecological Biochemistry and Chemistry article types

Abstract

Plants are foundational to all life on earth. As such, they and their metabolites are central to research spanning many disciplines and interests. Phytochemistry is dedicated to exploring the stunning array of plant metabolites and their impacts on other organisms. The Phytochemistry article type Ecological Biochemistry and Chemistry welcomes research articles reporting results of plant-based chemical ecology studies that explore chemically mediated interactions between plants, the environment, microbes, and/or insects. This may include studies involving plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stressors via defense metabolites, attraction or facilitation of mutualists with rewards, and chemical communication between organisms. In this Editorial Comment we provide guidelines for future Ecological Biochemistry and Chemistry-article type authors, with particular focus on gas and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection, to ensure Phytochemistry articles remain reproducible, of high-quality, and highly cited. Our commentary covers the entire analytical workflow, including experimental design, sample collection and extraction, instrumental methods, chemical data analysis, statistical analyses, and reporting.