The 1st International Symposium on Phytochemicals in Medicine and Food (ISPMF 2015) was held in Shanghai, China, from June 26th to 29th, 2015. The 1st ISPMF was organized by the Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE) and the Phytochemical Society of Asia (PSA). More than 270 scientists from 48 countries attended this meeting. The program of ISPMF 2015 consisted of 12 plenary lectures, 20 invited talks, and 55 short oral presentations in 16 sessions, including phytochemistry, phytomedicine, pharmacology, and application of phytochemicals in medicine and food. The 1st ISPMF has obtained support from Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Food Chemistry, Phytochemistry Reviews, and Nutrients. As supported by Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann, a special issue on Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS) for the 1st ISPMF was initiated in January 2015.