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Natural Products: Biological Activities and Industrial Applications
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Natural Products: Biological Activities and Industrial Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 2834

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ana Carolina Gonçalves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CICS-UBI—Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: pharmacognosy; natural products; phytochemical analysis; high-performance liquid chromatography; phytochemistry; herbal medicine; traditional medicine; biological activities; nutraceuticals; plant extracts; antimicrobials; antioxidants; natural product research; phytomedicine; phytopharmacology; antibacterials; antifungals; antiparasitics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, natural products and their composition have been a hot topic of discussion among different communities. In addition, their interest along with consumers is increasing worldwide, not only because of their economical value and facilities of operation, but also because of their belief that they offer any, or less, unwanted effects than chemical drugs. Given that, it is not surprising that many studies have been conducted in order to explore the total biological potential and different applications.

This Special Issue will publish high-quality, original research and review papers in the overlapping fields of:

  • Biological potential of plant extracts, alone or combined with other active ingredients and/or pharmaceuticals;
  • Strategies and new technologies to enhance the biological potential of plant extracts, e.g., their (nano)encapsulation with liposomes, in health and industry companies;
  • The structure–activity relationship between the biological activity and content;
  • Health-promoting properties and practical use of natural products and/or their composition.

Dr. Ana Carolina Gonçalves
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural products
  • biological activities
  • industrial applications
  • bioactive compounds

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1719 KiB  
Article
Waste-Free Glucose to Erythritol Conversion—Innovations with Yarrowia lipolytica Wratislavia K1 UV15
by Anita Rywińska, Piotr Juszczyk, Zbigniew Lazar, Ludwika Tomaszewska-Hetman, Marta Kuźmińska-Bajor, Waldemar Rymowicz and Magdalena Rakicka-Pustułka
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 3190; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15063190 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 623
Abstract
This study investigates the waste-free bioconversion of glucose to erythritol using the UV-mutagenized strain Yarrowia lipolytica Wratislavia KI UV15. This research focuses on optimizing fermentation parameters to enhance erythritol yield, with a key emphasis on utilizing post-crystallization erythritol filtrate as a primary carbon [...] Read more.
This study investigates the waste-free bioconversion of glucose to erythritol using the UV-mutagenized strain Yarrowia lipolytica Wratislavia KI UV15. This research focuses on optimizing fermentation parameters to enhance erythritol yield, with a key emphasis on utilizing post-crystallization erythritol filtrate as a primary carbon source, promoting a cost-effective and sustainable approach to erythritol production. The experimental design included systematic variations in ammonium sulfate concentration, yeast extract supplementation, and initial glucose concentration. The results demonstrate that the UV15 strain achieves high erythritol production efficiency. An optimal nitrogen source concentration (3.1 g/L) and reduced yeast extract levels (0.25 g/L) provided the best results, achieving a maximum erythritol concentration of 174.8 g/L with a yield of 58.2%. Furthermore, lowering the initial glucose concentration further improved process efficiency, confirming the feasibility of using post-crystallization filtrate as an effective and sustainable carbon source. These findings highlight the biotechnological potential of Y. lipolytica UV15 in erythritol production, demonstrating its adaptability to waste-derived substrates and advancing the development of economically viable, environmentally sustainable production methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products: Biological Activities and Industrial Applications)
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19 pages, 3217 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Bioactive Potential of Mushroom Aqueous Extracts: Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Prebiotic Properties
by Tiago Barros Afonso, Sara Marçal, Pedro Vale, Ana Sofia Sousa, João Nunes and Manuela Pintado
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 1551; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15031551 - 3 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1282
Abstract
Mushrooms provide essential nutrients and bioactive compounds, namely glucans, protein, and phenolic compounds. In this study, two aqueous extractions were performed (M1 and M2) using Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, and Agrocybe cylindracea. In M1, a hot extraction (extract M1) (90 [...] Read more.
Mushrooms provide essential nutrients and bioactive compounds, namely glucans, protein, and phenolic compounds. In this study, two aqueous extractions were performed (M1 and M2) using Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, and Agrocybe cylindracea. In M1, a hot extraction (extract M1) (90 °C, 700 rpm, 1 h) was performed. In M2, a room-temperature extraction (extract M2A) followed by a hot extraction (extract M2B) (90 °C, 700 rpm, 1 h) of the extract M2A residue was performed. The M2B extracts showed the lowest extraction yields (12.58–21.78%), while the other yields ranged between 30.91% and 46.03%. All extracts had high protein (12.09–32.97 g/100 g of dry extract), glucan (12.69–48.57 g/100 g of dry extract), and phenolic contents (7.90–16.65 mg GAEs/g of dry extract) and high antioxidant (ABTS and ORAC assays), antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and prebiotic activities. So, they have potential to be used as functional ingredients or natural preservatives. Extracts from A. cylindracea stood out since they had higher protein content, antioxidant activity, and prebiotic activity (extract M1) and inhibited a higher number of foodborne bacteria (only extract M2A). However, unlike extracts from P. ostreatus and P. eryngii, at 40 mg/mL, they had cytotoxic effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products: Biological Activities and Industrial Applications)
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