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Chemopreventive Activity of Natural Products
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Chemopreventive Activity of Natural Products

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2025) | Viewed by 2924

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dimitrios Stagos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Biopolis, 41500 Larissa, Greece
Interests: antioxidants; chemoprevention; anticancer; oxidative stress; plant extracts; plant polyphenols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemoprevention involves the use of natural or synthetic chemical agents to reverse, suppress, or prevent the progression of carcinogenesis to invasive cancer. Many chemopreventive agents are plant-derived compounds that possess protective or disease-preventive properties. These natural compounds exert their chemopreventive effects through the modulation of cellular redox statuses. In several cases, changes in the cellular redox environment can lead to diverse outcomes. For instance, some phytochemicals act as antioxidants, providing protection against ROS-induced DNA damage and thereby preventing mutagenesis and the initiation of carcinogenesis. However, other natural compounds induce apoptosis in cancer cells by functioning as pro-oxidants.

We invite you to submit your latest research findings or a review article to this Special Issue, which aims to compile the most recent research and critical insights into the intricate interplay between antioxidant/pro-oxidant activities and chemopreventive effects of natural compounds. These compounds may be individual substances or complex mixtures derived from terrestrial or marine sources.

Dr. Dimitrios Stagos
Guest Editor

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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • plant extracts
  • natural compounds
  • antioxidants
  • anticancer
  • polyphenols
  • ROS-induced DNA damage

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 439 KB  
Article
Phytochemical Profile of Convolvulus cantabrica Extracts and Their Biological Activity
by Khaled Ben Elwalid Mahdadi, Zina Allaoua, Mohamed Sabri Bensaad, Fatima Belahssini, Chawki Bensouici, Diana C. G. A. Pinto, Yavuz Selim Cakmak, Hamada Haba, Dimitris Mossialos, Dimitrios Stagos and Salah Akkal
Molecules 2026, 31(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31010058 - 23 Dec 2025
Viewed by 837
Abstract
The present work provides a detailed study of Convolvulus cantabrica L., a plant belonging to the family Convolvulaceae and the genus Convolvulus. The selection of this plant was based on the long-standing ethnobotanical relevance of its genus, which was attributed to the [...] Read more.
The present work provides a detailed study of Convolvulus cantabrica L., a plant belonging to the family Convolvulaceae and the genus Convolvulus. The selection of this plant was based on the long-standing ethnobotanical relevance of its genus, which was attributed to the richness of its species in phenolic and flavonoids compounds. Moreover, this species as remained unexplored to date. Our investigation includes both chemical and biological aspects. To assess the chemical composition of the hydroalcoholic extract of the plant, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed. Rosmarinic Acid (161.9 ppm) and Chlorogenic Acid (153.8 ppm) had the highest concentrations. Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis demonstrated the presence of Fatty Acids and Esters (70.81%), sesquiterpene and diterpenes (19.51%) and fatty alcohols (6.02%). In addition, the ethyl acetate extract exhibited the highest phenolic contents (606.42 µg/mL) and flavonoid contents (363.75 µg/mL). The tested extracts, especially the ethyl acetate and butanol extracts, exhibited strong antioxidant capacity in DPPH (IC50: 13.60 ± 1.30 µg/mL for ethyl acetate extract and 17.69 ± 1.17 µg/mL for butanol extract), ABTS (IC50: 7.26 ± 0.01 µg/mL for ethyl acetate extract and 6.90 ± 0.18 µg/mL for butanol extract) and FRP (IC50: 14.89 ± 0.90 µg/mL for ethyl acetate extract and 23.14 ± 0.60 µg/mL for butanol extract) assays compared with extracts from other species of this genus. Moreover, the petroleum ether extract demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity (IC50: 419.30 ± 4.48 µg/mL). Regarding antibacterial activity, the plant extracts, especially the ethyl acetate, hydroalcoholic and petroleum ether extracts, inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus. Overall, our data indicate that Convolvulus cantabrica L., is rich in secondary metabolites, particularly polyphenols, and exhibits significant biological activities, especially antioxidant properties. These results validate the traditional use of C. cantabrica and position it as a promising source of natural antioxidants with potential pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemopreventive Activity of Natural Products)
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26 pages, 2535 KB  
Article
Pharmacognosy and Antioxidant Activity of Pruned Leaves from the Unexplored Olea europaea L. ‘Lavagnina’ (Liguria, Italy)
by Federica Betuzzi, Paola Malaspina, Flavio Polito, Giovanni Bottino, Vincenzo De Feo, Laura De Martino and Laura Cornara
Molecules 2025, 30(17), 3605; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173605 - 3 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1669
Abstract
Olea europaea L. ‘Lavagnina’ is cultivated in the Eastern Ligurian coast (Italy), and during the pruning process a huge amount of pruning residues is produced. This by-product is generally disposed of by burning, despite still containing bioactive compounds. In particular, olive leaves are [...] Read more.
Olea europaea L. ‘Lavagnina’ is cultivated in the Eastern Ligurian coast (Italy), and during the pruning process a huge amount of pruning residues is produced. This by-product is generally disposed of by burning, despite still containing bioactive compounds. In particular, olive leaves are indeed rich in secondary metabolites, which can vary both in quality and quantity in relation to the cultivar considered and the area of cultivation. For this reason, we aimed to carry out a pharmacognostic study of the pruned leaves of the unexplored local cultivar ‘Lavagnina’, evaluating the possibility of reusing this by-product for new health applications. The micromorphological characterization was conducted by light and scanning electron microscopy. ‘Lavagnina’ leaf was micromorphologically similar to that of other olive cultivars; however, it differed in terms of midrib structure. Leaf extracts were obtained using solvents of increasing polarity (petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol) and the food-grade solvent, 70% ethanol. A high antioxidant activity was found only for the methanolic (ME) and hydroalcoholic (HAE) extracts, and, therefore, they were then characterized from a phytochemical point of view by LC-ESI-HR-MS. Such analysis allowed the identification of secondary metabolites belonging mainly to secoiridoids, flavonoids, and iridoids. Overall, the HAE had the highest antioxidant activity (17.3 ± 0.6 μg/mL), and it is, therefore, the best candidate for health applications related to a protective effect on a variety of inflammation-related diseases, also considering that inflammation may play a role in cancer progression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemopreventive Activity of Natural Products)
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