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Characterization and Biological Functions of Plant Extracts

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 1202

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Kiel University, Hermann-Rodewald-Street 2, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Interests: secondary metabolites; bioactivity; human health; plant food quality; mass spectrometry; NMR; biofortification; abiotic stress
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Guest Editor
Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Interests: phytogenic feed additives; phyto-medicine; biological activity; anti-microbial agents; in vitro toxicology; anti-inflammatory agent

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antibiotic resistance has gained increasing attention owing to its role in annual global deaths, and it is enhanced by poverty and inequality, especially in regions at low- and middle-income levels. According to WHO records, in 2019, bacterial antibiotic resistance directly led to 1.27 million global deaths and contributed to a further 4.95 million deaths. Additionally, cancer is the second predominant cause of mortality globally, responsible for 10 million deaths in 2020. Natural sources such as medicinal plants, endophytes, and food crops are promising alternatives for alleviating pathogenic infections, inflammation, and many other illnesses in humans and animals. Additionally, as precious sources of many phytonutrients and beneficial secondary metabolites (e.g., flavonoids of all classes, terpenoids, alkaloids, phytoalexins, and glucosinolates, and their breakdown products), they can be valuable in alleviating many diseases of humans and animals.

In this Special Issue, we are eager to invite experts in the field to contribute original research articles, short communications, and critical reviews. We aim to document advances and current state-of-the-art research topics associated with the pharmacological properties of plant extracts and quantification of the secondary metabolites responsible for the activity. This will enhance the body of knowledge to strengthen the biological significance of plant-derived natural products owing to their therapeutic properties. New updates in biochemical and molecular assay-guided fractionation to determine the organic molecules responsible for the respective pharmacological activities will also help in developing new leads.

Dr. Muna Ali Abdalla
Prof. Dr. Lyndy McGaw
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biological activity of plant-derived products
  • antimicrobial activity
  • in vitro antibiofilm activity
  • anticancer activity
  • anti-inflammatory activity
  • secondary metabolites

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 599 KiB  
Article
Progress in the Study of Chemical Constituents of Actaea cimicifuga and Actaea erythrocarpa and Their Biological Potential
by Andrey S. Erst, Natalia V. Petrova, Alexander A. Chernonosov, Olga A. Kaidash, Vladimir V. Sheikin, Tatiana V. Leonova, Tatiana M. Shaldaeva, Anastasiia S. Gusar, Vladimir V. Koval, Elena V. Udut, Kunli Xiang, Yuan-Yuan Ling, Wei Wang and Vera A. Kostikova
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(10), 4768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26104768 - 16 May 2025
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Abstract
For the first time, hydroethanolic extracts from Actaea cimicifuga and Actaea erythrocarpa were analyzed using LC-HRMS, HPLC, and spectrometry in this study. Extracts from the above-ground parts of Actaea species exhibited higher concentrations of saponins (up to 248 mg/g of DE), coumarins (up [...] Read more.
For the first time, hydroethanolic extracts from Actaea cimicifuga and Actaea erythrocarpa were analyzed using LC-HRMS, HPLC, and spectrometry in this study. Extracts from the above-ground parts of Actaea species exhibited higher concentrations of saponins (up to 248 mg/g of DE), coumarins (up to 162 mg/g of DE), flavonols (up to 32 mg/g of DE), and catechins (up to 11 mg/g of DE) compared to extracts from the underground parts. The concentrations of phenolic acids (up to 112 mg/g of DE) and tannins (up to 202 mg/g of DE) in the underground parts were comparable to or even higher than those in the above-ground parts of the two analyzed species. The concentration of the main metabolites detected was higher in the extract of A. erythrocarpa than that of A. cimicifuga. The metabolite profile of the extracts from both species showed 66 compounds, including chromones, coumarins, phenolic and nitrogenous compounds, fatty acids, and triterpenes. The HPLC analysis of the four extracts revealed that the concentration of caffeic acid (0.74 mg/g of the dry extract [DE]) was the highest in the extract from the underground part of A. erythrocarpa, whereas the extract from the above-ground part of this species showed the highest levels of ferulic (1.16 mg/g of DE) and isoferulic acids (1.49 mg/g of DE) and of hyperoside (13.05 mg/g of DE). The study of biological activity showed that A. erythrocarpa is most promising for further research, with the highest antioxidant activity found in the underground parts of this species (IC50 = 79.7 μg/mL) compared to the above-ground parts (IC50 = 85.8 μg/mL). In addition, the extract from the above-ground part of A. erythrocarpa was found to exhibit the greatest cytotoxic activity among the studied specimens against 3T3-L1, HepG2, and MDA-MB-231 cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization and Biological Functions of Plant Extracts)
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