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Pharmaceuticals
Special Issues
The Discovery and Development of Drug Ingredients from Food Sources
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The Discovery and Development of Drug Ingredients from Food Sources

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2025 | Viewed by 604

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Justyna Żwawiak

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Guest Editor
Department of Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Faculty, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Interests: organic synthesis; heterocycles; nitro group; antimicrobial and antituberculosis activity; nitroimidazoles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dorota Olender

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Guest Editor
Department of Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Faculty, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
Interests: organic synthesis; green chemistry; heterocycles; nitro group; antimicrobial and anticancer activity; nitroimidazoles; curcuminoids; chalcones
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Beyond its vital role in providing nutrients, food can be a strong implement in the prevention and treatment of disease. It is known that eating too much or too little of certain foods and nutrients can raise the risk of dying, as with, for example, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Foods are composed of a variety of bioactive compounds with a significant, valuable therapeutic potential, specifically natural polysaccharides, pigments, antioxidants (such as tocopherols, polyphenols, and carotenoids), vegetal sterols (such as phytosterols), short and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, bioactive peptides, and pre- and probiotics. In this Special Issue, we aim to publish articles on new biomolecules isolated from natural food products. This may cover any aspect of development, methods of isolation, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of new drug candidates, as well as biological targets and drug delivery.

This Special Issue welcomes opinions, brief reports, communications, research articles, as well as reviews.

Dr. Justyna Żwawiak
Dr. Dorota Olender
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. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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 compounds
  • food
  • antioxidants
  • biological activity of natural substances
  • the influence of food on health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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13 pages, 1433 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Evaluation of Olive Leaf (Olea europaea L.) Extract as a Functional Food Component in Combination with Chemotherapeutics in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells
by Eda Büker, Fadime Kiran, Seval Taliboglu, Dorina Casoni and Ayşe Ipekel
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(7), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18070965 (registering DOI) - 27 Jun 2025
Abstract
Background: Since breast cancer is a major cause of mortality, investigation of the synergistic effect of Olea europaea L. leaf extract in combination with some cancer medications is important for obtaining cost-effective and high-achieving treatments for breast cancer. This study aims to [...] Read more.
Background: Since breast cancer is a major cause of mortality, investigation of the synergistic effect of Olea europaea L. leaf extract in combination with some cancer medications is important for obtaining cost-effective and high-achieving treatments for breast cancer. This study aims to investigate the potential effects of Olea europaea L. extract in inhibiting breast cancer cell growth and enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy agents against breast cancer under in vitro conditions. Methods: We conducted an analysis of some minerals and vitamins of three different viscosities (200 V, 300 V, and 400 V as a natural food product) of Olea europaea L. leaf water-based extract (OWE) derived from a natural cold maceration. We investigated the cytotoxic effects of Olea europaea L. extract with different viscosities (200–400 V) and various chemotherapy agents, either alone or in combination, in estrogen receptor-positive MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells by MTT assay. Olea europaea L. extract treatment of cells resulted in growth inhibition in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Results: The 400 V OWE showed the highest calcium (301 ± 12 mg/100 g), potassium (1744 ± 33 mg/100 g), and vitamin E (0.36 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) amounts. Based on MTT results, combinations of 400V Olea europaea L. extract, which exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect with an IC50 value of 940 µg/mL, and anticancer drugs were next assessed for their synergistic efficacy towards cell growth inhibition. Conclusions: Combinations of the IC50 value of 400 V OWE with docetaxel, paclitaxel, and trastuzumab (1 µg/mL) treatment showed a strong synergistic effect in the growth inhibition of MCF-7 cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Discovery and Development of Drug Ingredients from Food Sources)
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20 pages, 18302 KiB  
Article
Harnessing the Therapeutic Potential of Pomegranate Peel-Derived Bioactive Compounds in Pancreatic Cancer: A Computational Approach
by Rita Majhi, Sagar Kurmi, Hilal Tayara and Kil To Chong
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(6), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18060896 - 15 Jun 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel, often discarded as waste, contains abundant bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, and many more. This contributes to remarkable bioactivities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. Pancreatic cancer is a deadly cancer [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel, often discarded as waste, contains abundant bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, and many more. This contributes to remarkable bioactivities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. Pancreatic cancer is a deadly cancer with a 9% survival rate. Its aggressiveness, invasiveness, quick metastasis, and poor prognosis significantly decrease the survival rate. Thus, we aim to explore pomegranate peel as a possible alternative medication for treating pancreatic cancer through virtual methods. Methods: Firstly, bioactive compounds were collected from multiple databases and screened for oral bioavailability (OB) ≥ 0.3 and drug likeness (DL) ≥ 0.18 scores. Simultaneously, network pharmacology was employed to extract the most probable targets for pancreatic cancer. Further computational analyses were performed, including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and in silico pharmacokinetics evaluation. Results: Consequently, the top 10 key targets from network analysis were AKT1, IL6, TNF, SRC, STAT3, EGFR, BCL2, HSP90AA1, HIF1A, and PTGS2. However, only AKT1, EGFR, BCL2, HSP90AA1, and PTGS2 exhibited strong binding affinities with pomegranate compounds, which are significantly declared in affected cells to enhance cancer progression. Outcomes from molecular dynamics simulations, particularly RMSD, RMSF, hydrogen bonding, and radius of gyration (Rg), confirmed stable interactions between 1-O-Galloyl-beta-D-glucose, epicatechin, phloridzin, and epicatechin gallate with respective target proteins. Conclusions: This suggests that pomegranate peels hold anticancer bioactive compounds for treating pancreatic cancer. Surprisingly, most compounds adhere to Lipinski’s and Pfizer’s rules and display no toxicity. However, as this study relies entirely on computational methods, experimental validation is necessary to confirm these findings and assess real-world efficacy and potential side effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Discovery and Development of Drug Ingredients from Food Sources)
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