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Advances in Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Natural Products of Plant Origin

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 11021

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Economic and Medical Informatics, University of Lodz, 90-214 Lodz, Poland
2. Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Medical University of Lodz, 90-645 Lodz, Poland
Interests: biochemistry & molecular biology; data analysis; informatics in business; medical statistics; health care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on recent advancements in the research of anti-inflammatory properties exhibited by natural products derived from plants. Inflammation is a complex biological response that plays a crucial role in various pathological conditions. The exploration of plant-based compounds with anti-inflammatory potential offers promising avenues for developing novel therapeutic strategies with potentially fewer side effects compared to synthetic drugs.

This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge research on the identification, characterization, and mechanistic studies of plant-derived molecules with anti-inflammatory activities. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following:

  1. Isolation and structural elucidation of novel anti-inflammatory compounds from plants;
  2. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects of plant extracts and purified compounds;
  3. Molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory actions of phytochemicals;
  4. Structure–activity relationships of plant-derived anti-inflammatory agents;
  5. Synergistic effects of plant compounds in modulating inflammatory responses;
  6. Preclinical and clinical studies on plant-based anti-inflammatory therapeutics;
  7. Ethnopharmacological approaches to discovering anti-inflammatory plants;
  8. Advanced analytical techniques for profiling anti-inflammatory constituents in plant extracts;
  9. Biotechnological approaches to enhance the production of anti-inflammatory compounds in plants.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and short communications that contribute to our understanding of plant-derived anti-inflammatory compounds and their potential applications in managing inflammatory disorders.

Prof. Dr. Radosław Zajdel
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • anti-inflammatory
  • phytochemicals
  • natural products
  • medicinal plants
  • inflammation
  • cytokines
  • NF-κB pathway
  • cyclooxygenase inhibitors
  • flavonoids
  • terpenoids
  • polyphenols
  • molecular mechanisms
  • drug discovery
  • ethnopharmacology
  • metabolomics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

12 pages, 528 KiB  
Review
The Antioxidant Potential of Black Tea Polyphenols in Heavy Metal Toxicity: An In Vitro Perspective
by Ewa Wnuk
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(16), 7926; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167926 - 16 Aug 2025
Viewed by 272
Abstract
Black tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. Its properties are primarily due to the presence of polyphenols, which are associated with various effects, including antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities. These compounds include, [...] Read more.
Black tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. Its properties are primarily due to the presence of polyphenols, which are associated with various effects, including antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities. These compounds include, among others, theaflavins (TFs) and thearubigins (TRs). The available literature provides numerous reports confirming the positive properties of these compounds. However, it is important to highlight their potential protective effects against oxidative stress induced by heavy metals. This is an important topic, given the ongoing exposure to such pollutants—resulting mainly from industrial development, among other factors. This manuscript provides a summary of the current knowledge on the properties of TFs and TRs and their effect against oxidative stress caused by heavy metals in in vitro studies. The limited amount of research in this area shows that this is still a poorly researched topic. Comparing the results obtained for epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea, which has a similar structure to TFs and TRs suggests that they may exhibit similar or even enhanced antioxidant properties. Considering that black tea is consumed much more frequently than green tea worldwide, it is understandable that the antioxidant potential of these two compounds on cells needs to be investigated. Full article
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29 pages, 985 KiB  
Review
Impact of Dietary Fiber on Inflammation in Humans
by Stefan Kabisch, Jasmin Hajir, Varvara Sukhobaevskaia, Martin O. Weickert and Andreas F. H. Pfeiffer
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(5), 2000; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26052000 - 25 Feb 2025
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 10228
Abstract
Cohort studies consistently show that a high intake of cereal fiber and whole-grain products is associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Similar findings are also reported for infectious and chronic inflammatory disorders. All these disorders [...] Read more.
Cohort studies consistently show that a high intake of cereal fiber and whole-grain products is associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Similar findings are also reported for infectious and chronic inflammatory disorders. All these disorders are at least partially caused by inflammaging, a chronic state of inflammation associated with aging and Metabolic Syndrome. Surprisingly, insoluble (cereal) fiber intake consistently shows stronger protective associations with most long-term health outcomes than soluble fiber. Most humans consume soluble fiber mainly from sweet fruits, which usually come with high levels of sugar, counteracting the potentially beneficial effects of fiber. In both observational and interventional studies, high-fiber diets show a beneficial impact on inflammation, which can be attributed to a variety of nutrients apart from dietary fiber. These confounders need to be considered when evaluating the effects of fiber as part of complex dietary patterns. When assessing specific types of fiber, inulin and resistant starch clearly elicit anti-inflammatory short-term effects, while results for pectins, beta-glucans, or psyllium turn out to be less convincing. For insoluble fiber, promising but sparse data have been published so far. Hypotheses on putative mechanisms of anti-inflammatory fiber effects include a direct impact on immune cells (e.g., for pectin), fermentation to pleiotropic short-chain fatty acids (for fermentable fiber only), modulation of the gut microbiome towards higher levels of diversity, changes in bile acid metabolism, a differential release of gut hormones (such as the glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP)), and an improvement of insulin resistance via the mTOR/S6K1 signaling cascade. Moreover, the contribution of phytate-mediated antioxidative and immune-modulatory means of action needs to be considered. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on the impact of fiber-rich diets and dietary fiber on the human inflammatory system. However, given the huge heterogeneity of study designs, cohorts, interventions, and outcomes, definite conclusions on which fiber to recommend to whom cannot yet be drawn. Full article
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