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Natural Products Chemistry in Asia
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Natural Products Chemistry in Asia

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1280

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shao-Hua Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy & State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: pharmaceutical chemistry; synthesis; structural modification; biological activity; natural product
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wenhan Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: bioactive metabolites derived from marine organisms (sponges and corals); marine mangrove plants and their associated microorganisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products have historically served as vital sources for the discovery of therapeutic agents, and about half of clinically used drugs today are derived from natural products. In Asian region, vast and diverse natural organisms from territory and marine attract the interest of scientists for the discovery of drug leads and application for clinic remedy. As a forum for the exchange of research findings and innovative ideas on the natural product related field, we launched a Special Issue entitled “Natural Products Chemistry in Asia”.

This Special Issue mainly focus on the natural product discovery and methodology, analytical chemistry, organic synthesis and derivatization, biosynthesis and enzyme-mediated derivatization, bioactivity and mode of action, chemoecology, and relevant topics. Both original research articles and comprehensive review papers are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Shaohua Wang
Prof. Dr. Wenhan Lin
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. 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

  • isolation protocol
  • structure elucidation
  • synthesis
  • biosynthesis
  • bioactivity
  • chemical ecology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3492 KB  
Article
Anti-Neuroinflammatory Effects of Compounds Isolated from Quercus acuta Thunb. Fruits via NF-κB Signaling Inhibition in BV2 Microglia
by Hwan Lee, Yezhi Jin, Ji-Ae Hong, Chenyang Bai, Gyoyoung Lee, Suhyeon Woo, Chi-Su Yoon, Donghyuck Bae and Dong-Sung Lee
Molecules 2025, 30(23), 4514; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30234514 - 22 Nov 2025
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases in which microglia-driven neuroinflammation plays a critical role in neuronal dysfunction and disease progression. In this study, we sought to isolate bioactive metabolites from Quercus acuta Thunb. fruits—which have traditionally been used in oriental [...] Read more.
Aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases in which microglia-driven neuroinflammation plays a critical role in neuronal dysfunction and disease progression. In this study, we sought to isolate bioactive metabolites from Quercus acuta Thunb. fruits—which have traditionally been used in oriental medicine but are chemically and pharmacologically underexplored—and evaluate their anti-neuroinflammatory potential. A total of 14 compounds were isolated from an ethanol extract of Q. acuta fruits through bioactivity-guided isolation, and their structures were identified by NMR spectroscopy. Notably, this study is the first to demonstrate that 3,5,7,2′,6′-pentahydroxyflavanone and 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, among the compounds isolated from Q. acuta fruits, exhibit significant anti-neuroinflammatory activities. Both compounds reduced the production of proinflammatory mediators, including IL-6 and TNF-α, while inhibiting the expression of iNOS and COX-2. Moreover, they significantly inhibited NF-κB activation in lipopolysaccharide-induced BV2 microglia. Collectively, these findings indicate that Q. acuta fruits contain bioactive constituents with previously unreported anti-neuroinflammatory properties, supporting their potential as a natural source for the development of therapeutic agents targeting age-related neuroinflammation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products Chemistry in Asia)
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21 pages, 1313 KB  
Article
Bioactivity-Directed Isolation of Anticancer Constituents from Underexplored Folklore: Rhus punjabensis Stewart
by Saira Tabassum, Joham Sarfraz Ali, Rida Fatima Saeed, Madiha Asghar, Myra Akhtar, Abdul Momin Rizwan Ahmad and Muhammad Zia
Molecules 2025, 30(22), 4339; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30224339 - 8 Nov 2025
Viewed by 502
Abstract
Background: Medicinal plants continue to offer a promising source of novel bioactive compounds for cancer therapy due to their affordability, biocompatibility, and low toxicity. Rhus punjabensis Stewart, an ethnomedicinal species from the family Anacardiaceae, has long been used in the traditional medicine of [...] Read more.
Background: Medicinal plants continue to offer a promising source of novel bioactive compounds for cancer therapy due to their affordability, biocompatibility, and low toxicity. Rhus punjabensis Stewart, an ethnomedicinal species from the family Anacardiaceae, has long been used in the traditional medicine of northern Pakistan to treat inflammatory, hepatic, and infectious diseases. However, its phytochemical composition and anticancer potential remain largely unexplored. Methods: This study employed a bioactivity-guided isolation strategy to identify and characterize anticancer constituents from R. punjabensis leaves. The plant material was sequentially fractionated using solvents of increasing polarity, followed by purification via column chromatography. Each fraction and purified compound was evaluated using antioxidant (DPPH, total antioxidant capacity, and total reducing power) and cytotoxic assays, including brine shrimp lethality, Sulfo-rhodamine B (SRB) against five human cancer cell lines, protein kinase inhibition, and NF-κB chemo-preventive assays. Results: Comparative analysis of spectral data (UV, 1D/2D NMR, and ESI-MS) led to the identification of three triterpenoid compounds—Lupeol, Cycloartenol, and β-sitosterol—reported for the first time from R. punjabensis. Among them, Lupeol displayed the most potent cytotoxicity against DU-145 prostate (IC50 = 11.2 ± 1.2 μg/mL) and HL-60 leukemia (IC50 = 15.2 ± 1.1 μg/mL) cell lines and showed significant NF-κB inhibitory activity (IC50 = 19.4 ± 1.1 μg/mL), indicating its chemo-preventive potential. Cycloartenoland β-sitosterol exhibited moderate antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Conclusion: The findings validate the ethnopharmacological use of R. punjabensis and confirm it as a new source of triterpenoids with notable anticancer activity. This study provides the first comprehensive account of its bioactive metabolites, reinforcing the significance of bioactivity-directed isolation as a powerful approach for discovering natural anticancer agents. Further in vivo and mechanistic evaluations are warranted to establish their therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products Chemistry in Asia)
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