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Metabolites
Special Issues
Bioactive Metabolites from Plants
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Bioactive Metabolites from Plants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2025 | Viewed by 1575

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luis Francisco Salomé-Abarca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Genetic Resourses and Productivity-Fruit Growing, Postgraduate College, Texcoco 56230, Mexico
Interests: metabolomics; chemical ecology; plant pest and disease control; fruit nutraceuticals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dejan Godjevac

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: metabolomics; metabolite structural elucidation; food chemistry; metabolite bioactivity; NMR
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The plant kingdom is considered, so far, to have the largest reservoir of natural products, containing around 1 million metabolites. The greatness of plant metabolites does not rely only on numbers but on structural diversity, which is paralleled in their multifunctionality. Because of this, bioactive metabolites have been under the limelight of scientific scrutiny along the humankind story line. The spectrum of plant metabolite bioactivity includes antibacterial, antifungal, deterrent, antifeedant, allelopathic, growth promotion, insect attraction, crop bio-stimulation, medicinal, and nutraceutical effects, among others. Thus, plant metabolites have been used in several research and industrial fields, for instance, food production, cosmetics, medicine, and agronomy during preharvest and postharvest stages. The characterization and determination of plant metabolite activities involve an experimental pipeline going from in vitro to in vivo tests, that is, from laboratory to preclinical, clinical, or field trials. To achieve such goals, several steps, such as metabolite isolation, identification, quantification, formulation, and biological characterization, among others, are needed. In this context, this Special Issue is dedicated to research dealing with isolation, identification, and biological activities of plant metabolites. The scope of biological activities includes, but it is not limited to, applications in agronomic, industrial, and medical fields approached by omics and non-omics proceedings.

Dr. Luis Francisco Salomé-Abarca
Dr. Dejan Godjevac
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 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. 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

  • metabolites
  • bioactivity
  • identification
  • quantification
  • metabolomics
  • nutraceuticals
  • antibiosis
  • antixenosis
  • medicinal

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3390 KiB  
Article
The Potential of Aloe vera and Opuntia ficus-indica Extracts as Biobased Agents for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Metals
by Çağdaş Özdemir, Lucia Emanuele, Marta Kotlar, Marina Brailo Šćepanović, Laura Scrano and Sabino Aurelio Bufo
Metabolites 2025, 15(6), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15060386 - 10 Jun 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Biocorrosion, driven by microbial colonization and biofilm formation, poses a significant threat to the integrity of metal artifacts, particularly those composed of copper and its alloys. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial species that reduces nitrates, plays a key role in this process. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Biocorrosion, driven by microbial colonization and biofilm formation, poses a significant threat to the integrity of metal artifacts, particularly those composed of copper and its alloys. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial species that reduces nitrates, plays a key role in this process. This study explores the potential of two metabolite-rich plant extracts, Aloe vera and Opuntia ficus-indica, as sustainable biobased inhibitors of microbial-induced corrosion (MICOR). Methods: The antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of the extracts were evaluated using minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays, time-kill kinetics, and biofilm prevention and removal tests on copper, bronze, and brass samples. Spectrophotometric and microbiological methods were used to quantify bacterial growth and biofilm density. Results: Both extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activity, with MIC values of 8.3% (v/v). A. vera demonstrated superior bactericidal effects, achieving reductions of ≥3 log10 in bacterial counts at lower concentrations. In antibiofilm assays, both extracts effectively prevented biofilm formation and reduced established biofilms, with A. vera exhibiting greater efficacy against them. The active metabolites—anthraquinones, phenolics, flavonoids, and tannins—likely contribute to these effects. Conclusions: These findings highlight the dual role of A. vera and O. ficus-indica extracts as both corrosion and biocorrosion inhibitors. The secondary metabolite profiles of these plants support their application as eco-friendly alternatives in the conservation of metal cultural heritage objects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Metabolites from Plants)
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Review

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15 pages, 848 KiB  
Review
The Bioprospecting of Bixa orellana L. for the Selection of Characters with Biological Activity
by Luz A. Guerrero-Lagunes, Lucero M. Ruiz-Posadas, Jorge Cadena-Iñiguez, Ramón Marcos Soto-Hernández, Carlos H. Avendaño-Arrazate, Juan F. Aguirre-Medina, Celeste Soto-Mendoza and Juan F. Aguirre-Cadena
Metabolites 2025, 15(2), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15020115 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 984
Abstract
A meta-analysis of 28 sources of information was conducted, considering different variables in Bixa orellana, with the aim of identifying bioprospective variables. Variables were approached, such as the organ of extraction and extraction method, with 63 biochemical classes and 20 for biological [...] Read more.
A meta-analysis of 28 sources of information was conducted, considering different variables in Bixa orellana, with the aim of identifying bioprospective variables. Variables were approached, such as the organ of extraction and extraction method, with 63 biochemical classes and 20 for biological activity, and their states were codified. The statistical analysis was developed through a cladistics analysis using the WinClada version1.00.08 84,85 software and the explicative accumulated variance was determined through a descriptive multivariate analysis and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The tree obtained showed the phenotype Africa1 as the one closest to the basal state. After Africa1, nine clades are derived and the phenotypes Colombia3 and Colombia5 were the most evolved. The analyses demonstrated that in B. orellana L., the phenotypes from India, Brazil, and Yucatán present anticancer activity against the cell lines U251, MCF-7, HeLa, NCI-H460, PC-3, A549 and HT-29, as well as biological activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, related primarily with biochemical compounds such as geranylgeraniol, ellagic acid, and carotenoids (bixin and norbixin), naringenin and alkaloids. The conditions of reproductive isolation of the phenotypes mentioned before providing the ideal agroclimatic conditions to produce compounds with biological activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Metabolites from Plants)
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