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Metabolites
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Metabolism of Bioactives and Natural Products: 2nd Edition
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Metabolism of Bioactives and Natural Products: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 816

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kamila Misiakiewicz-Has

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Guest Editor
Department of Histology and Embryology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 72 Powstańców Wielkopolskich Str., 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: natural products; isoflavones; saponins; inulin; diabetes; digestive system; male gonad
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Barbara Wiszniewska

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Guest Editor
Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Pomeranian Medical University, Powst. Wlkp. 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: endocrine disrupting chemicals; hormonal imbalance; male reproductive system; Isoflavones
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sylwia Rzeszotek

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Guest Editor
Department of Histology and Embryology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 72 Powstańców Wielkopolskich Str., 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Interests: cellular stress; autophagy; digestive system; steroid hormones imbalance; cell adhesion molecules; hemopoiesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive components and natural products and their structural analogues have played an important role in pharmacotherapy, especially in the past. Now, our attention is once again turning toward potentially therapeutic/healing compounds found in nature. The sources of natural products include secondary metabolites and endogenous active compounds isolated not only from plants but also from fungi, animals, and microorganisms. Natural products provide unique characteristics compared to traditional synthetic molecules, presenting both benefits and obstacles in the drug discovery process. Natural products have a profound impact on human physiology, metabolism, and stress responses. Extensive research has demonstrated that the in vivo pharmacodynamic effects of natural products are strongly related to their metabolic profiles, depending on the bioavailability, absorption, and metabolism of bioactive compounds (in this context, the microbiota has a significant role to play). Studying bioactive metabolites in vivo and assessing their activity against various diseases is challenging due to the diversity of these chemical structures, their low and varied concentrations, and the variability in the production of specific metabolites within the population. In this Special Issue, we aim to identify and characterize compounds that affect molecular targets and their pharmacological potential, ultimately benefiting human health.

Dr. Kamila Misiakiewicz-Has
Prof. Dr. Barbara Wiszniewska
Dr. Sylwia Rzeszotek
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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
  • bioactive
  • medicinal plants
  • phytochemicals
  • isoflavones
  • triterpenes
  • coumarins
  • alkaloids
  • prebiotics
  • carotenoids
  • polyphenols
  • organosulfur compounds

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 1235 KB  
Article
Untargeted Metabolomics for Profiling of Cascara, Senna, Rhubarb, and Frangula Metabolites
by Paola Nezi, Alessia Lucia Prete, Filippo Costanti, Vittoria Cicaloni, Mattia Cicogni, Laura Tinti, Laura Salvini and Monica Bianchini
Metabolites 2025, 15(12), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15120779 - 3 Dec 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Natural products containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives (HADs) such as Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana), Frangula (Rhamnus frangula), Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum), and Senna (Cassia angustifolia) have long been used for their laxative properties, but also raise safety concerns [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Natural products containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives (HADs) such as Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana), Frangula (Rhamnus frangula), Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum), and Senna (Cassia angustifolia) have long been used for their laxative properties, but also raise safety concerns due to reported genotoxic and carcinogenic potential. Most studies have focused on quantifying HADs, whereas the broader secondary metabolite landscape of these herbal drugs remains underexplored. We aimed to generate an untargeted metabolomic fingerprint of these four species and to explore their chemical diversity using AI-based structural classification. Methods: Four commercial botanical raw materials were extracted with 60% methanol and analysed by UPLC–HRMS/MS in positive and negative ion modes. Features were processed in Compound Discoverer and annotated by accurate mass and MS/MS matching against spectral databases, then assigned to structural classes using a graph neural network classifier. Multivariate analyses (PCA, HCA) were used to compare metabolic patterns across species. Results: In total, 93, 83, 83 and 51 metabolites were annotated in cascara, frangula, rhubarb, and senna, respectively, spanning flavonoids, anthraquinones, phenylpropanoids and other classes. Only four flavonoids were shared by all species, indicating marked biochemical divergence. Several putatively species-enriched features were observed, including pavine in cascara and frangula, vicenin-2 in senna, and piceatannol in rhubarb. Senna displayed the most distinct metabolic profile, whereas cascara and frangula clustered closely. Conclusions: This work provides a chemistry-centred metabolomic fingerprint of four HAD-containing herbal drugs using graph-based neural networks for natural product classification, supporting future studies on the pharmacological potential, bioavailability and safety of their metabolites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolism of Bioactives and Natural Products: 2nd Edition)
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25 pages, 2185 KB  
Article
Effect of High-Pressure Processed Apples on Phenolic Metabolites, Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and Human Gut Microbiota Using a Dynamic In Vitro Colonic Fermentation System
by Begoña de Ancos, Irene Fernández-Jalao, Claudia Balderas, Lucía Giménez and Concepción Sánchez-Moreno
Metabolites 2025, 15(12), 775; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15120775 - 29 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Consuming apples regularly has positive effects on human health due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which have been associated with their phenolic composition. To enhance the bioactive properties of apple phenolic compounds, high-pressure processing (HPP) has been studied as a [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Consuming apples regularly has positive effects on human health due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which have been associated with their phenolic composition. To enhance the bioactive properties of apple phenolic compounds, high-pressure processing (HPP) has been studied as a tool to improve their extraction during gastrointestinal digestion with the aim of increasing their bioaccessibility and the amount that reaches the colon unchanged, which can serve as substrates for bacterial fermentation. This study aimed to analyze the impact of an HPP-apple ingredient on the metabolism of human gut microbiota using an in vitro dynamic simulator of gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation (GID-CF) that allowed us to study the three colon regions separately (ascending—AC; transverse—TC; and descending—DC). Methods: Apples were HPP-treated (400 MPa/5 min) and lyophilized to obtain an HPP-apple ingredient in powder form. A GID-CF was employed to study the continuous intake of the HPP-apple ingredient for 14 days at 37.5 g/day. Results: The HPP-apple ingredient produced a significant accumulation of phenolic metabolites mainly in the DC, with benefits on human health. The main phenolic metabolites formed were phloroglucinol, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic acid, 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid, and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid. A PCA revealed a perfect separation of the three colon regions based on the phenolic precursors and metabolites. The microbiota-modulatory effects were attributed to the increase in Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. populations and the butyric acid (SCFA) concentration. Conclusions: The results obtained highlight the health benefits and potential prebiotic-like effect of the HPP-apple ingredient on the gut microbiota. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolism of Bioactives and Natural Products: 2nd Edition)
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