Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Phytochemistry Letters
ISSN 1874-3900 · eISSN 1876-7486 · Elsevier BV · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 2008
Phytochemistry Letters: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.65; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,520; review about 125 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy (Elsevier website: 41%); 1,179 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Phytochemistry Letters is published by Elsevier BV and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Natural product bioactivities and synthesis, Phytochemistry and Biological Activities and Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis, together about 37.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
An Official Journal of the Phytochemical Society of EuropePhytochemistry Letters invites rapid communications on all aspects of natural product research including:• Structural elucidation of natural products • Analytical evaluation of herbal medicines • Clinical efficacy, safety and pharmacovigilance of herbal medicines • Natural product biosynthesis • Natural product synthesis and chemical modification • Natural product metabolism • Chemical ecology • Biotechnology • Bioassay-guided isolation • Pharmacognosy • Pharmacology of natural products • Metabolomics • Ethnobotany and traditional usage • Genetics of natural productsManuscripts that detail the isolation of just one new compound are not substantial enough to be sent out of review and are out of scope. Furthermore, where pharmacology has been performed on one new compound to increase the amount of novel data, the pharmacology must be substantial and/or related to the medicinal use of the producing organism.For more details please follow this link: IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief Simon GibbonsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United Kingdom 10, United States 7, Germany 6, Mainland China 5, Italy 4 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Natural product bioactivities and synthesisBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology17.3%
- Phytochemistry and Biological ActivitiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences13.2%
- Microbial Natural Products and BiosynthesisMedicine6.8%
- Traditional and Medicinal Uses of AnnonaceaeBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Fungal Biology and ApplicationsMedicine4.7%
- Sesquiterpenes and Asteraceae StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.8%
- Phytochemicals and Antioxidant ActivitiesMedicine3.8%
- Phytochemical compounds biological activitiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Medicinal | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Medicinal | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Medicinal | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.65LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.32LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- h-index
- 30LetPub ·
- h-index
- 63OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,605OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.59OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.37%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 161LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,731 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 150 | 53 | 27 |
| 2025 | 1,179 | 85 | 198 |
| 2024 | 168 | 26 | 656 |
| 2023 | 176 | 23 | 748 |
| 2022 | 206 | 18 | 985 |
| 2021 | 217 | 14 | 1,792 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
125 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports 3–8 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 41%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 56 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 125 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,520 / EUR 3,290 / GBP 2,820 / JPY 436,590 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted12
- hypothesis• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- invited short review (mini-review)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Length not stated
- letter• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- perspective• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- research article• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- review• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- review article• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- short communication• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- short communication (letter)• Short Communication (Letter)Length not stated
- short review• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
- theoryTwo new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Perspective.Length not stated
- viewpoint• Short Communication (Letter)• Invited Short Review (Mini-review)Two new categories of paper will be introduced to Phytochemistry Letters, namely Theory and Pe…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission. Model summary
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships that could inappropriately influence their work. Model summary
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors should complete the declaration of compe…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'. Model summary
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Peer review process: single anonymized review process. Model summary
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 2008
- ISSN
- 1874-3900
- Electronic ISSN
- 1876-7486
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Phytochemistry Letters
What CAS zone is Phytochemistry Letters in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Phytochemistry Letters is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Chemistry, Medicinal / Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Phytochemistry Letters?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.65; CiteScore 2.8, h-index 63.
How long does peer review take at Phytochemistry Letters?
The publisher reports about 125 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy (Elsevier website: 41%)”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Phytochemistry Letters based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (10), United States (7) and Germany (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Phytochemistry Letters?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Phytochemistry Letters is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Phytochemistry Letters open access, and what is the APC?
Phytochemistry Letters is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,520.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .