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Natural Products in Anticancer Activity: 2nd Edition
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Natural Products in Anticancer Activity: 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 3441

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marcus Tullius Scotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
Interests: natural products database; cheminformatics; virtual screening; chemotaxonomy; natural product drug discovery; machine learning; molecular descriptors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luciana Scotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Postgraduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
Interests: molecular modeling; cheminformatic; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We easily find in the scientific literature several studies with natural products, from different sources: marine, microorganisms or plants; which demonstrate antiviral, anti-allergic, antitumor, antioxidant, anticancer, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic activities. Anticancer activity of products is extensively researched, as cancer is a leading cause of death in the global population. The World Health Organization inform that before the pandemic it was responsible for one out of six deaths. In males, the most common types of cancer are prostate, lung, colorectal, stomach and liver; while in females we observed lung, breast, colorectal, cervical and thyroid. The uncontrollable growth of the cells in organs and tissues has a dubious origin, and goes through resistance and recurrence, reaching metastasis and death. The complete cure of cancer remains a major scientific challenge. This issue will report research into new anticancer agents, using natural compounds.

Prof. Dr. Marcus Tullius Scotti
Dr. Luciana Scotti
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

  • natural products
  • anticancer
  • drug
  • nature
  • molecule

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3368 KiB  
Article
TQFL19, a Novel Derivative of Thymoquinone (TQ), Plays an Essential Role by Inhibiting Cell Growth, Metastasis, and Invasion in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
by Ali El-Far, Xiaoyan Liu, Ting Xiao, Jun Du, Xinwei Du, Chunli Wei, Jingliang Cheng, Hui Zou and Junjiang Fu
Molecules 2025, 30(4), 773; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30040773 - 7 Feb 2025
Viewed by 651
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is a significant public health concern globally. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered the most challenging type, as it is defined by an absence of estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, along with a lack of HER2 overexpression. In the current [...] Read more.
Breast cancer (BC) is a significant public health concern globally. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered the most challenging type, as it is defined by an absence of estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, along with a lack of HER2 overexpression. In the current study, we developed a novel thymoquinone (TQ), TQFL19, to control TNBC progression. Purpose: The current study aimed to investigate the anticancer potential of a newly synthesized TQFL19 against TNBC. Study design: To achieve our research goals, we meticulously developed both in vitro and in vivo studies focused on TNBC cell growth, metastasis, and invasion. Results: Characterization and ADMET properties prediction of TQFL19 were first performed before treating TNBC cells. TQFL19 exhibited more potent cytotoxicity than TQ against 4T1, BT-549, and MDA-MB-231 cells and induced apoptosis of 4T1 and MDA-MB-231, besides cell cycle arrest of MDA-MB-231. In vivo mice allograft of 4T1 revealed the ability of TQFL19 to hinder the growth, migration, and metastasis of TNBC cells. Conclusions: The results suggest that TQFL19 potentially inhibited TNBC growth, metastasis, and invasion. The results conclude that TQFL19 could be a viable candidate for TNBC therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Anticancer Activity: 2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 2815 KiB  
Article
Lignin Isolated by Microwave-Assisted Acid-Catalyzed Solvolysis Induced Cell Death in Mammalian Tumor Cells by Modulating Apoptotic Pathways
by Rio Kashimoto, Eriko Ohgitani, Yutaka Makimura, Tatsuya Miyazaki, Chihiro Kimura, Masaharu Shin-Ya, Hiroshi Nishimura, Giuseppe Pezzotti, Takashi Watanabe and Osam Mazda
Molecules 2024, 29(23), 5490; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29235490 - 21 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1195
Abstract
Lignin, the most abundant renewable aromatic polymer, has been shown to suppress the growth of mammalian tumor cells. Despite extensive studies on lignin structure and its engineering, there is little information on the biological activity of lignin in relation to its molecular structure [...] Read more.
Lignin, the most abundant renewable aromatic polymer, has been shown to suppress the growth of mammalian tumor cells. Despite extensive studies on lignin structure and its engineering, there is little information on the biological activity of lignin in relation to its molecular structure or the molecular mechanisms by which lignin suppresses tumor cells in mammalian species. Here, we prepared microwave-assisted acid-catalyzed solvolysis lignin (MASL) from Japanese cedar and Eucalyptus globulus and assessed its effects on human and mouse tumor cells. SEC indicated that MASL consists of oligomeric aromatics from the woody plants. Our data showed that MASL significantly reduced the viability of tumor cells by modulating apoptotic pathways. MASL treatment upregulated TNF-α, Fas, and FasL expression levels, while suppressing anti-apoptotic NF-κB and mTOR pathways in tumor cells. In vivo experiments were also performed using tumor-bearing mice to confirm the anti-tumor effects of MASL. Repetitive administrations of a MASL (YM CL1T) significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice in association with elevation of caspase 3 expression. These findings strongly suggest the potential usefulness of low-molecular-weight lignin as an effective therapeutic against malignancies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Anticancer Activity: 2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 8596 KiB  
Article
The Inhibitory Effect and Mechanism of the Histidine-Rich Peptide rAj-HRP from Apostichopus japonicus on Human Colon Cancer HCT116 Cells
by Yuebin Zhang, Shan Gao, Jiaming Mao, Yuyao Song, Xueting Wang, Jingwei Jiang, Li Lv, Zunchun Zhou and Jihong Wang
Molecules 2024, 29(21), 5214; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29215214 - 4 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1229
Abstract
Colon cancer is a common and lethal malignancy, ranking second in global cancer-related mortality, highlighting the urgent need for novel targeted therapies. The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is a marine organism known for its medicinal properties. After conducting a bioinformatics analysis [...] Read more.
Colon cancer is a common and lethal malignancy, ranking second in global cancer-related mortality, highlighting the urgent need for novel targeted therapies. The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is a marine organism known for its medicinal properties. After conducting a bioinformatics analysis of the cDNA library of Apostichopus japonicus, we found and cloned a cDNA sequence encoding histidine-rich peptides, and the recombinant peptide was named rAj-HRP. Human histidine-rich peptides are known for their anti-cancer properties, raising questions as to whether rAj-HRP might exhibit similar effects. To investigate whether rAj-HRP can inhibit colon cancer, we used human colon cancer HCT116 cells as a model and studied the tumor suppressive activity in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that rAj-HRP inhibited HCT116 cell proliferation, migration, and adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in vitro. It also disrupted the cytoskeleton and induced apoptosis in these cells. In vivo, rAj-HRP significantly inhibited the growth of HCT116 tumors in BALB/c mice, reducing tumor volume and weight without affecting the body weight of the tumor-bearing mice. Western blot analysis showed that rAj-HRP inhibited HCT116 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by upregulating BAX and promoting PARP zymogen degradation. Additionally, rAj-HRP inhibited HCT116 cell adhesion and migration by reducing MMP2 levels. Further research showed that rAj-HRP downregulated EGFR expression in HCT116 cells and inhibited key downstream molecules, including AKT, P-AKT, PLCγ, P38 MAPK, and c-Jun. In conclusion, rAj-HRP exhibits significant inhibitory effects on HCT116 cells in both in vitro and in vivo, primarily through the EGFR and apoptosis pathways. These findings suggest that rAj-HRP has the potential as a novel targeted therapy for colon cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products in Anticancer Activity: 2nd Edition)
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