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Plant Polyphenols: From Nature to Medical and Food Applications

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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: closed (28 February 2024) | Viewed by 3615

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anna Oniszczuk

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Guest Editor

Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Chodźki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland
Interests: biological properties; liquid chromatography, antioxidants; extraction methods; functional food; polyphenols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Kamila Kasprzak-Drozd

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Guest Editor

Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Chodźki 4a, 20-093 Lublin, Poland
Interests: functional food; antioxidant properties; polyphenols; phenolic acids; extraction; HPLC
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites recognized as one of the largest and most widespread classes of plant constituents, representing one of the main phytochemicals found in plant-based foods and plant-derived foods and medicines. Over the years, polyphenols have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their potential health-promoting effects and the large and diverse panel of biological activities. Epidemiological studies have indicated that the consumption of diets containing polyphenols has a role in reducing the risk of various diseases, such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, despite the voluminous literature studying polyphenols and their impact on human health, there are still many issues, discrepancies, and controversies waiting to be investigated and explored in order to explain and elucidate the positive effects of polyphenols on human health. Questions regarding the chemistry of polyphenols, their biological activity, clinical studies, bioavailability, and mechanism of action, in addition to the evidence of their real beneficial effects on human health, are still unclear and need answering. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes the submission of articles (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modeling approaches, and methods) that focus on the latest advances in the exploration of polyphenols and their health beneficial effects.

Covered aspects include, but are not limited to:

chemistry of polyphenols;
biological activities of these compounds;
risk and safety of polyphenols consumption;
bioavailability and bioaccessibility of food phenolic compounds;
gastro-intestinal absorption of polyphenols;
and beneficial effects of these compounds on human health.

Prof. Dr. Anna Oniszczuk
Dr. Kamila Kasprzak-Drozd
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

polyphenols
biological activity
antioxidants
functional food
gastro-intestinal digestion, human health
liquid chromatography
extraction methods

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 6840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Secondary Metabolites of Leaf Buds from Some Species and Hybrids of Populus by Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Detection and Two-Dimensional High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography Methods with Assessment of Their Antioxidant Activity

by Loretta Pobłocka-Olech, Valery A. Isidorov and Mirosława Krauze-Baranowska

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(7), 3971; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073971 - 3 Apr 2024

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Abstract

Poplars provide medicinal raw plant materials used in pharmacy. Leaf buds are one of the herbal medicinal products collected from poplars, having anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, but there are no quality standards for their production and there is a need to determine their botanical sources. Therefore, the chemical compositions of the leaf buds from four species and varieties of poplars, Populus balsamifera, P. × berolinensis, P. × canadensis ‘Marilandica’, and P. wilsonii were investigated and compared using gas chromatography coupled with mass detection (GC-MS) and two-dimensional high-performance thin-layer chromatography (2D-HPTLC) in order to search for taxa characterized by a high content of biologically active compounds and with a diverse chemical composition that determines their therapeutic effects. The presence of 163 compounds belonging to the groups of flavonoids, phenolic acids derivatives, glycerides, and sesquiterpenes was revealed. Moreover, the conditions for the separation and identification of biologically active compounds occurring in analyzed leaf buds using 2D-HPTLC were optimized and used for metabolomic profiling of the studied poplars, enabling their fast and simple botanical identification. The total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents of examined extracts were determined and their antioxidant capacities were estimated by spectrophotometric DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. Based on the analysis of phytochemicals and antioxidant activity, P. × berolinensis buds were selected as the raw plant material for medicinal purposes with the highest content of active compounds and the strongest antioxidant activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Polyphenols: From Nature to Medical and Food Applications)

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21 pages, 1205 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Thermal Treatment on the Composition of Alpinia officinarum Rhizome

by Justyna Zagórska, Karolina Pietrzak, Wirginia Kukula-Koch, Marcin Czop, Karolina Wojtysiak and Wojciech Koch

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(7), 3625; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073625 - 24 Mar 2024

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Abstract

Alpinia officinarum is a representative of the Zingiberaceae family, which is known for its wide use in the food and pharmaceutical industries also due to its precious pharmacological potential. The major aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of thermal treatment on the composition of the rhizome of Alpinia officinarum and its antioxidant activity. The fresh rhizome was subjected to various thermal treatment processes—boiling, frying and microwave heating during various time intervals—and their composition and antioxidant activity were determined using chromatographic (HPLC – High Performance Liquid Chromatography and HPLC-MS - High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry) and spectrophotometric (DPPH and TPC – Total Phenolic Content) methods. Pinobanksin was the main compound found in the extract of the fresh rhizome (537.79 mg/kg), followed by galangin (197.7 mg/kg) and zingerone (185.5 mg/kg). The effect of thermal treatment on the rhizome composition was varied. In general, thermal processing significantly decreased the content of active compounds in the rhizome. However, there were some exceptions—boiling for 4 min significantly increased the content of pinobanksin (1162.4 mg/kg) and galangin (280.7 mg/kg), and microwave processing for 4 min increased the content of pinocembrin (213 mg/kg). It was found that boiling and microwave treatment significantly increased the antioxidant activity of the processed rhizomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Polyphenols: From Nature to Medical and Food Applications)

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16 pages, 3068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anti-Inflammatory and Protective Effects of Water Extract and Bioferment from Sambucus nigra Fruit in LPS-Induced Human Skin Fibroblasts

by Magdalena Wójciak, Aleksandra Ziemlewska, Martyna Zagórska-Dziok, Zofia Nizioł-Łukaszewska, Dariusz Szczepanek, Tomasz Oniszczuk and Ireneusz Sowa

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(12), 10286; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241210286 - 17 Jun 2023

Viewed by 2004

Abstract

In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and protective effects of the Sambucus nigra fruit extract and its ferment obtained by fermentation with kombucha tea fungus. For this purpose, fermented and non-fermented extracts were compared in terms of their chemical composition by the HPLC/ESI-MS chromatographic method. The antioxidant activity of the tested samples was assessed using DPPH and ABTS assays. Cytotoxicity was also determined using Alamar Blue and Neutral Red tests to assess the viability and metabolism of fibroblast and keratinocyte skin cells. Potential anti-aging properties were determined by their ability to inhibit the activity of the metalloproteinases collagenase and elastase. Tests showed that the extract and the ferment have antioxidant properties and stimulate the proliferation of both cell types. The study also assessed the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract and ferment by monitoring levels of the pro-inflammatory interleukins IL-6, IL-1ß, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory IL-10 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated fibroblast cells. The results indicate that both the S. nigra extract and its kombucha ferment can be effective in preventing free-radical-induced cell damage and have positive effects on skin cell health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Polyphenols: From Nature to Medical and Food Applications)

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