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Applied Sciences
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Novel Research on Bioactive Compounds in Plant Products
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Novel Research on Bioactive Compounds in Plant Products

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 October 2025 | Viewed by 1588

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Martin Backor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Interests: natural product; plant extracts; pharmacology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interest in research focused on plant biotechnologies, plant secondary metabolism, and the study of plant origin bioactive compounds is currently increasing. Novel natural products from plants are being requested by public inquiry due to the development of modern agriculture, food industry, human health, and the maintenance of the quality of the environment. Intensive research activities have recently focused on all aspects of the isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from plants, the assessment of their in vitro and in vivo biological activities, novel applications, and new plant product development with an increased level of food quality.

The present Special Issue aims to provide a platform for the scientific community to present high-quality research focused on all aspects of novel research concerning bioactive compounds from plants.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from plant natural sources;
  • The in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the biological activity of plant compounds;
  • Biological and ecological roles of plant metabolites;
  • Novel applications of plant bioactive compounds;
  • Plant metabolites in biotechnologies;
  • Plant product development.

Prof. Dr. Martin Backor
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

  • plant secondary metabolites
  • plant bioactive compounds
  • phytochemicals
  • plant biotechnology
  • biological activity
  • functional food of plant origin
  • plant natural resources

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2730 KiB  
Article
Metabolic Profiling of Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. Walker from Lugazi, Uganda
by Christina Seel, Ivan Kahwa, Hilda Ikiriza, Hannah Sofie Koller, Helene Fitzner, Susan Billig, Claudia Wiesner and Leonard Kaysser
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 5580; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15105580 - 16 May 2025
Viewed by 122
Abstract
Conyza sumatrensis is a plant of the Asteraceae family widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of all continents. The plant is applied in folk medicine to treat malaria and helminth infections as well as other diseases. In Uganda, for example, the plant [...] Read more.
Conyza sumatrensis is a plant of the Asteraceae family widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of all continents. The plant is applied in folk medicine to treat malaria and helminth infections as well as other diseases. In Uganda, for example, the plant is traditionally used against ectoparasites and for wound healing. In this work, we describe a comprehensive analytical approach to investigate the metabolic profile of C. sumatrensis supported by database-assisted annotation and in silico techniques. The study aimed to analyze the metabolic profile of C. sumatrensis using multiple analytical techniques due to the complexity of the plant composition. Therefore, we employed a combination of thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). From the GC-MS experiments, more than 40 compounds could be annotated that had not been found in C. sumatrensis before. A number of these substances are known to possess relevant bioactivities, including antibacterial properties. Indeed, ethanolic extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against representative strains of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as shown by agar diffusion and microdilution assays. Using LC-MS/MS data, a feature-based molecular network was constructed to facilitate the comparison of two extraction solvents: water and ethanol. The majority of the features were detected in both of the extracts. However, some features were only detected using one of the extraction solvents. Our work provided valuable insights into the chemical profile of C. sumatrensis and lays the foundation for future research into its medicinal properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research on Bioactive Compounds in Plant Products)
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17 pages, 5622 KiB  
Article
Biological Activities of Selected Medicinal and Edible Plants Aqueous Infusions
by Tea Bilušić, Vedrana Čikeš Čulić, Zoran Zorić, Zrinka Čošić, Lovorka Vujić and Ivana Šola
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 3254; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15063254 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 339
Abstract
This study investigated the phenolic profile and biological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-hyperglycemic and antiproliferative) of aqueous infusions prepared from the following medicinal and edible plants: Geranium macrorrhizum L., Verbascum thapsus L., Ononis spinosa L., Achillea millefolium L., and Polygonum aviculare L. Despite their [...] Read more.
This study investigated the phenolic profile and biological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-hyperglycemic and antiproliferative) of aqueous infusions prepared from the following medicinal and edible plants: Geranium macrorrhizum L., Verbascum thapsus L., Ononis spinosa L., Achillea millefolium L., and Polygonum aviculare L. Despite their long-term usage and numerous scientific results on various solvent extracts of selected plants, they are still un-explored in terms of certain aspects of in vitro biological activities, especially in the form of aqueous infusions, which are a very common form of consumption of medicinal plants. The phenolic analysis of the selected infusions was carried out using the HPLC-DAD method and showed the highest content of total phenols in G. macrorrhizum and P. aviculare, the highest total flavonoid content in P. aviculare, and a high content of procyanidins in G. macrorrhizum. The highest antioxidant activity according to the three methods (DPPH, FRAP and Rancimat) was achieved by G. macrorrhizum and A. millefolium. The aqueous infusions of the selected plants showed no antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. The highest anti-hyperglycemic activity by inhibition of the enzymes α-glucosidase and α-amylase and the highest antiproliferative activity against MD-MBA-231, A549 and T24 cells was obtained from G. macrorrhizum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research on Bioactive Compounds in Plant Products)
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16 pages, 2032 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Research and Screening of Pharmacological Activity in Eryngium planum L. Herb Extracts
by Ksenia Matiusha, Andriy Grytsyk, Roman Hrytsyk, Ain Raal and Oleh Koshovyi
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 1433; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15031433 - 30 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 790
Abstract
Species of the genus Eryngium L. of the Apiaceae family are successfully used in folk medicine in various countries worldwide, but they are hardly implemented in official medicinal and pharmaceutical practices. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct phytochemical and pharmacological research in E. [...] Read more.
Species of the genus Eryngium L. of the Apiaceae family are successfully used in folk medicine in various countries worldwide, but they are hardly implemented in official medicinal and pharmaceutical practices. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct phytochemical and pharmacological research in E. planum L. herb extracts to develop and implement new phytomedicines based on this raw material. Purified water, and 40% and 70% ethanol were used for obtaining soft extracts. A total of seven hydroxycinnamic acids, six flavonoids, and three tannin metabolites were identified and quantified in the E. planum extracts by HPLC. These extracts were characterized as practically non-toxic medicines (V toxicity class, LD50 > 5000 mg/kg). The hepatoprotective activity of the E. planum extracts has been established. They were affected to reduce serum thiobarbituric acid (TBA) levels by 29.3%, 31.5%, and 32.4%, respectively, compared to untreated animals and in liver homogenate by 59.5%, 65.4%, and 66.8%, respectively. The alanine transaminase (ALT) activity decreased by 26.9%, 30.8%, and 33.8%, respectively. The aspartate transaminase (AST) activity decreased by 23.9%, 25.7%, and 30.5%, respectively. The sedative activity of E. planum extracts was studied for the first time. The 70% ethanol extract has the most pronounced sedative effect due to a significant decrease in motor activity (by 2.4 times compared to the control group) in the «Open Field test» and reduction in concern in the «Cube tests», «Raised Cross Maze», and “Black and White Camera”. This extract also demonstrates a moderate antibacterial effect against gram-positive microorganisms (8–10 mm), including staphylococci, streptococci, and bacilli. These results provide a foundation for further preclinical and clinical studies of the dry extract of E. planum herb (extractant: 70% ethanol) to integrate it into modern medical practice and develop new supplements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research on Bioactive Compounds in Plant Products)
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