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Chemical, Nutraceutical Composition and Potential Bio Pharmacological Properties of the Medicinal Plants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 7968

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. José Basilio Heredia

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Guest Editor

Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, AC. Carretera a Eldorado Km 5.5, Col. Campo El Diez, Culiacán CP 80110, SI, Mexico
Interests: phytochemistry; functional foods and nutraceuticals; secondary metabolites; plant stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Erick Paul Gutiérrez Grijalva

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Guest Editor

Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, Sonora, Mexico
Interests: phytochemicals; bioaccessibility; polyphenols; in vitro digestion; medicinal plants; antioxidants; functional foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal plants have traditionally been used in folk medicine in many cultures worldwide. These plants are a rich source of phytochemicals with biopharmaceutical potential against communicable and non-communicable diseases. In recent years, the study of natural chemicals from medicinal plants has been of increasing interest within the scientific community, with particular interest generated for pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary purposes. In communicable diseases, phytochemicals like flavonoids, phenolic compounds, polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenes have shown antimicrobial activity against bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens—particularly against those which are multi-resistant to conventional antibiotics. Furthermore, many reports have shown that phytochemicals have the potential to prevent and act as adjutants in the treatment of different noncommunicable diseases. Many studies have highlighted the importance of the latter use in improving chemotherapy agents against different types of cancer.

The phytochemicals and bioactive molecules of medicinal plants have been evaluated for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties with promising results. These activities are often correlated with the number and distribution of -OH radicals in the molecules, as it affects their association with cellular and tissue targets such as signaling molecules. Furthermore, their antioxidant mechanisms of action can delay and prevent the onset of comorbidities in noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, different types of cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

Given the importance of the subject, this Special Issue aims to collect research articles, review articles, and short communications regarding the characterization and potential biopharmaceutical properties of phytochemicals and natural products from medicinal plants against communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

Dr. José Basilio Heredia
Dr. Erick Paul Gutiérrez Grijalva
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

medicinal plants
antioxidant
anti-inflammatory
antimicrobial
antiviral
anticancer
antidiabetic
bioactive compounds
phytochemicals
ethnopharmacology
bioaccessibility
bioavailability
oxidative stress

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 2177 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metabolomic Analysis of Phytochemical Compounds from Agricultural Residues of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

by Laura Aracely Contreras-Angulo, Aldo Moreno-Ulloa, Rommel A. Carballo-Castañeda, Josefina León-Felix, José Geovanni Romero-Quintana, Maribel Aguilar-Medina, Rosalío Ramos-Payán and J. Basilio Heredia

Molecules 2022, 27(20), 7013; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27207013 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2984

Abstract

The eggplant is a fruit rich in natural products and produced worldwide. However, its cultivation generates a large amount of scarcely used agricultural residues with poor chemical characterization. This study aimed to identify and quantify the metabolome and determine the composition of select phytochemicals and the overall antioxidant capacity of various anatomical parts of the plant. The plant’s root, leaf, stem, and fruit were analyzed by quantitative mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics and chemoinformatics, and phytochemicals were quantified by spectrophotometric analysis. Moreover, we determined the total antioxidant capacity of the distinct plant parts to infer a possible biological effect of the plant’s metabolites. Various secondary metabolites were identified as terpenes, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, and saponins, distributed throughout the plant. The leaf and fruit presented the highest concentration of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and alkaloids, accompanied by the highest antioxidant capacity. Although the stem and root showed the lowest abundance of secondary metabolites, they provided around 20% of such compounds compared with the leaf and fruit. Overall, our study improved the understanding of the eggplant metabolome and concluded that the plant is rich in secondary metabolites, some with antioxidant properties, and shows potential nutraceutical and biopharmaceutical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical, Nutraceutical Composition and Potential Bio Pharmacological Properties of the Medicinal Plants)

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13 pages, 2947 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cytotoxic Activity of Polyphenol Extracts from Three Oregano Species: Hedeoma patens, Lippia graveolens and Lippia palmeri, and Antiproliferative Potential of Lippia graveolens against Two Types of Breast Cancer Cell Lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7)

by Marilyn S. Criollo-Mendoza, Rosalío Ramos-Payán, Laura A. Contreras-Angulo, Erick P. Gutiérrez-Grijalva, Josefina León-Félix, Claudia Villicaña, Miguel A. Angulo-Escalante and J. Basilio Heredia

Molecules 2022, 27(16), 5240; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27165240 - 17 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2449

Abstract

Oregano infusions have traditionally been used to treat some diseases related to inflammation and cancer; also, some species have shown antiproliferative activity on cancer cell lines, for example, colon and liver, and this has been attributed to its phytochemical profile, mainly its phenolic compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and antiproliferative potential of the polyphenols-rich extracts (PRE) of the oregano species H. patens, L. graveolens, and L. palmeri on breast cancer cell lines. The PRE of the three oregano species were obtained from dried leaves. The extract was characterized by determining antioxidant activity, total phenols content, and identifying the profile of phenolic acids and flavonoids by chromatography UPLC-MS/MS. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated in vitro on a non-cancer cell line of fibroblast NIH3T3 and the antiproliferative potential on the breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. L. graveolens showed the highest antioxidant capacity and significantly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells at non-cytotoxic concentrations in normal cells, with a similar effect to that cisplatin in MDA-MB-231 cells. Therefore, the polyphenol-rich extract from L. graveolens showed the greatest potential to guide future research on the antiproliferative mechanism of action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical, Nutraceutical Composition and Potential Bio Pharmacological Properties of the Medicinal Plants)

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Review

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20 pages, 3662 KiB

Open AccessReview

Senkyunolide I: A Review of Its Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, and Drug-Likeness

by Yan Huang, Yan Wu, Hongxiang Yin, Leilei Du and Chu Chen

Molecules 2023, 28(8), 3636; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28083636 - 21 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1710

Abstract

Senkyunolide I (SI) is a natural phthalide that has drawn increasing interest for its potential as a cardio-cerebral vascular drug candidate. In this paper, the botanical sources, phytochemical characteristics, chemical and biological transformations, pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties, and drug-likeness of SI are reviewed through a comprehensive literature survey, in order to provide support for its further research and applications. In general, SI is mainly distributed in Umbelliferae plants, and it is relatively stable to heat, acid, and oxygen, with good blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Substantial studies have established reliable methods for the isolation, purification, and content determination of SI. Its pharmacological effects include analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-thrombotic, anti-tumor effects, alleviating ischemia–reperfusion injury, etc. Pharmacokinetic parameters indicate that its metabolic pathway is mainly phase Ⅱ metabolism, and it is rapidly absorbed in vivo and widely distributed in the kidneys, liver, and lungs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical, Nutraceutical Composition and Potential Bio Pharmacological Properties of the Medicinal Plants)

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