Naturally Occurring Simple Oxygenated Benzophenones: Structural Diversity, Distribution, and Biological Properties
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors of this review examined and cited a large number of scientific articles published between 1850 and 2023. Thus, the information provided about simple oxygenated benzophenones is undoubtedly relevant and comprehensive. The text of the manuscript is clearly presented.
The title corresponds to the main goal, the keywords are adequate.
The abstract provides short information on the structure, sources, and biological activity of the benzophenones discussed in this article.
Introduction. In my opinion, in this section, the authors should more clearly formulate the main objectives and justify the importance of the discussed compounds and their ambiguous effects on the environment and people.
The section „2. Structural diversity of simply oxygenated benzophenones“. The content of the section does not exactly correspond to the title. It examines the sources of benzophenones more than the structure of individual groups of compounds. I would think that it is much more convenient for the reader to use Table 1, which provides clear and concentrated material on the distribution of naturally occurring benzophenones. On the other hand, the names of the figures should indicate the literature sources that provided the structural formulas of specific benzophenones. So, I would recommend the authors to review the content of Section 2 and 3 and correct accordingly.
In the section "4. Biological properties of naturally occurring simply oxygenated benzophenones", the authors provide detailed information about the valuable properties of these compounds. On the other hand, I missed the evaluation of the negative effects of benzophenones on human health and the environment, though very concentrated. After all, the title of the article states "biological properties"…
Conclusions. The section is well prepared and discusses the main benefits of this manuscript.
Author Response
Comment: Introduction. In my opinion, in this section, the authors should more clearly formulate the main objectives and justify the importance of the discussed compounds and their ambiguous effects on the environment and people.
Answer: We tried to improve the Introduction section according to the reviewer’s comment.
Comment: The section „2. Structural diversity of simply oxygenated benzophenones“. The content of the section does not exactly correspond to the title. It examines the sources of benzophenones more than the structure of individual groups of compounds. I would think that it is much more convenient for the reader to use Table 1, which provides clear and concentrated material on the distribution of naturally occurring benzophenones. On the other hand, the names of the figures should indicate the literature sources that provided the structural formulas of specific benzophenones. So, I would recommend the authors review the content of Sections 2 and 3 and correct them accordingly.
Answer: The aim of Section 2 is to accustom the reader to the diversity of the structures of simply oxygenated benzophenones. This section consists mainly of figures containing structures and text giving the first report of the occurrence of the particular structure, the species, and respective references. We deliberately did not give further organisms where the specific structure occurred, since it would make the text more challenging to read. Instead, in Section 3 we place Table 1, its main purpose is to give all species that contain simply oxygenated benzophenones, organs, and the respective references.
Comment: In the section "4. Biological properties of naturally occurring simply oxygenated benzophenones", the authors provide detailed information about the valuable properties of these compounds. On the other hand, I missed the evaluation of the negative effects of benzophenones on human health and the environment, though very concentrated. After all, the title of the article states "biological properties"…
Answer: We include a subsection “4.16. Negative effects of naturally occurring simply oxygenated benzophenones on human and animal health and the environment” in order to address the reviewer’s comment.
Reviewer 2 Report
The idea and the information provided in the manuscript are wealthy. However, improvement is needed prior to acceptance. The significant comments are as follows and the other can be referred to the annotation in the reviewed manuscript.
The introduction is insufficient to introduce the topic. What has been introduced in the abstract should be briefly explained in the Introduction section give a better overview. This section should also introduce the topics that are covered in the review.
2.0 It will be good to have some justification based on the biosynthesis pathways of the included compounds here to rationalize their natural existence.
Figure 3 should be in 2.2.
The compound’s structures were given 2 different no. Why is this so? Each compound should be specifically numbered, not represented with 2 different no. If the other no represents the reference used, please remove it as it is already cited in the text.
3.0 This section also needs a summary of the LR-reported data. Ie to correlate the close relationship between the family or species where the title class of compound has been identified/ isolated to rationalize their existence.
Suggested to use 'Antioxidant' only for 4.1
In some reported biological activities, the organism and assay/ method used are missing. Some format is also inconsistent. Please check
This section should only state the findings from each focused subtopic and recommendation. Some of the conclusion content needs to move to Introduction and the respective subtopic.
Minor
Author Response
Comment: Introduction The introduction is insufficient to introduce the topic. What has been introduced in the abstract should be briefly explained in the Introduction section give a better overview. This section should also introduce the topics that are covered in the review.
Answer: We tried to improve the Introduction section according to the reviewer’s comment.
Comment: 2.0 It will be good to have some justification based on the biosynthesis pathways of the included compounds here to rationalize their natural existence.
Answer: We include section “5. Biogenetic significance of simply oxygenated benzophenones” in order to address the reviewer’s comment.
Comment: Figure 3 should be in 2.2.
Answer: It is done.
Comment: The compound’s structures were given 2 different no. Why is this so? Each compound should be specifically numbered, not represented with 2 different no. If the other no represents the reference used, please remove it as it is already cited in the text.
Answer: Indeed, each compound should have only one number. We thank the reviewer for pointing out this mistake. The second number in the bracket for each structure has been removed from the figures.
Comment: 3.0 This section also needs a summary of the LR-reported data. Ie to correlate the close relationship between the family or species where the title class of compound has been identified/ isolated to rationalize their existence.
Answer: We added a discussion in section 3 trying to address the reviewer’s comment.
Comment: Suggested to use 'Antioxidant' only for 4.1
Answer: It is done.
Comment: In some reported biological activities, the organism and assay/ method used are missing. Some format is also inconsistent. Please check
Answer: The section was checked we did not find any inconsistency.
Comment: This section should only state the findings from each focused subtopic and recommendation. Some of the conclusion content needs to move to Introduction and the respective subtopic.
Answer: The conclusion section is distilled information from sections 2-5 so it is inappropriate to go into the “Introduction” section. Instead, we put some of the conclusions in the abstract.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript has been corrected based on the comments provided. This version of the article is eligible for journal publication.
Reviewer 2 Report
My comments and suggestions have been addressed.
My comments and suggestions have been addressed. I am suggesting improvising the sentence structure, particularly in the Introduction section.
