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Recent Advances in Natural Compounds Research: Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 253

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)—Research Center for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
Interests: citrus bioactive compounds; recovery of high value compounds from fruit processing wastes; mild food processing; quality of foods; traceability of organic food productions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, Rakowiecka 36, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: fruits; vegetables; emerging techniques; food processing and preservation; bioaccessibility and bioavailability; high-pressure processing; high-pressure homogenization; high-pressure carbon dioxide; ultrasounds; microwaves; food chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The number of studies on natural compounds is increasing due to rising interest in finding novel alternatives to synthetic and/or artificial compounds for use in the chemical, phytochemical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, new formulations proposed as food supplements are increasingly using natural compounds due to their greater appeal among consumers who are convinced of their health benefits. Based on this, several research studies have examined the discovery of bioactive ingredients from natural matrices, covering the latest findings about new extraction techniques, the chemical characterization of phytoextracts with valuable biological activity, and in vivo tests and in vitro bioassays to determine the biological activity of purified compounds. However, there is a further need to explore the chemistry, biology and biotechnology behind the use of natural compounds in order to ensure they are being used safely. Therefore, this Special Issue of Molecules is dedicated to original research and review articles that cover the latest findings about the structures and chemical characteristics of natural compounds, their biological mechanisms of action, their in vitro and in vivo bioavailability, their actual and future biotechnological applications, and the advantages, drawbacks and opportunities of their use in diverse feasible fields of application. In vitro and in vivo toxicological studies jointly associated with the chemical and biological characterizations of natural compounds are also welcome.

Dr. Simona Fabroni
Dr. Krystian Marszałek
Dr. Aldo Todaro
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. 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

  • bioactive constituents
  • phytoextract
  • biological activity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

18 pages, 1626 KiB  
Review
Functional Approaches to Discover New Compounds via Enzymatic Modification: Predicted Data Mining Approach and Biotransformation-Guided Purification
by Te-Sheng Chang
Molecules 2025, 30(10), 2228; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30102228 - 20 May 2025
Abstract
In the field of biotechnology, natural compounds isolated from medicinal plants are highly valued; however, their discovery, purification, biofunctional characterization, and biochemical validation have historically involved time-consuming and laborious processes. Two innovative approaches have emerged to more efficiently discover new bioactive substances: the [...] Read more.
In the field of biotechnology, natural compounds isolated from medicinal plants are highly valued; however, their discovery, purification, biofunctional characterization, and biochemical validation have historically involved time-consuming and laborious processes. Two innovative approaches have emerged to more efficiently discover new bioactive substances: the predicted data mining approach (PDMA) and biotransformation-guided purification (BGP). The PDMA is a computational method that predicts biotransformation potential, identifying potential substrates for specific enzymes from numerous candidate compounds to generate new compounds. BGP combines enzymatic biotransformation with traditional purification techniques to directly identify and isolate biotransformed products from crude extract fractions. This review examines recent research employing BGP or the PDMA for novel compound discovery. This research demonstrates that both approaches effectively allow for the discovery of novel bioactive molecules from natural sources, the enhancement of the bioactivity and solubility of existing compounds, and the development of alternatives to traditional methods. These findings highlight the potential of integrating traditional medicinal knowledge with modern enzymatic and computational tools to advance drug discovery and development. Full article
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