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From Nature to the Lab: Extraction, Analysis, and Applications of...
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From Nature to the Lab: Extraction, Analysis, and Applications of Plant Bioactives and Synthetic Counterparts

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 998

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Olga St. Tsiftsoglou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: pharmacognosy; natural products chemistry; NMR; chromatography; phytochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Haralambos E. Katerinopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Interests: isolation and spectroscopic identification of natural products; development of synthetic analogs that enhance the biological activity of natural products; natural product chemistry; organic synthesis
Dr. Ioannis Fotopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: drug design; anti-inflammatory; lipoxygenase inhibitors; cinnamic acids; coumarins

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the exploration of bioactive compounds derived from plants and their synthetic analogs, highlighting their significance in various fields such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture. It aims to present recent advances in extraction methods, chemical characterization, and functional applications of these compounds. Particular focus is on innovative analytical techniques and sustainable extraction processes, as well as the development of synthetic derivatives that enhance or mimic the biological activity of natural products. By integrating natural and synthetic approaches, this Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential and versatility of bioactive compounds in addressing global health and industrial challenges.

Dr. Olga St. Tsiftsoglou
Prof. Dr. Haralambos E. Katerinopoulos
Guest Editors

Dr. Ioannis Fotopoulos
Guest Editor Assistant

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. Plants 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 compounds
  • green extraction methods
  • phytochemical analysis
  • antioxidant activity
  • secondary metabolites
  • chromatography and spectroscopy
  • pharmaceutical/nutraceutical applications

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1242 KB  
Article
From Nature to Synthesis and Vice Versa: Costic Acid Analogs with Acaricidal Activity Against the Bee Parasite Varroa destructor
by Eugenia Papastefanaki, Apostolos Spyros, Demosthenis Isaakidis, Maria Kallivretaki, Despoina Moraiti, Napoleon C. Stratigakis, Demetrios Ghanotakis and Haralambos E. Katerinopoulos
Plants 2026, 15(2), 310; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15020310 - 20 Jan 2026
Viewed by 583
Abstract
The species Inula helenium belongs to the genus Inula (Asteraceae) and exhibits antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is used in respiratory and skin diseases. Its bioactivity is attributed to its eudesmanolide components, mainly to alantolactone and isoalantolactone. These components were isolated in high [...] Read more.
The species Inula helenium belongs to the genus Inula (Asteraceae) and exhibits antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is used in respiratory and skin diseases. Its bioactivity is attributed to its eudesmanolide components, mainly to alantolactone and isoalantolactone. These components were isolated in high purity from the plant’s dried roots, either via multiple column chromatography separations or via repeated recrystallization. Two more eudesmanolides structurally similar to their parent compounds were isolated, namely 11,13-dihydro-alantolactone and 11,13-dihydro-isoalantolactone. The secondary metabolites and their derivatives were characterized in detail, for the first time, via NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS, and HRMS. Synthetic modification of the natural component structure was considered necessary for structure–activity relationship studies and biological tests. Thus, each compound was converted to its nitrile and then to the corresponding acid, or to its azide derivative and then corresponding amine. Antioxidant studies were conducted on the parent compounds, their derivatives, and the methanolic and hexane plant extracts using the DPPH radical method. The study revealed a strong antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extract. Acaricidal studies of both natural products and synthetic analogs against Varroa destructor and the comparison of their activity with the parent natural product costic acid, as well as one of its synthetic congeners, indicated that the “from nature to synthesis and vice versa” approach led to active compounds as well as to meaningful conclusions regarding the “pharmacophore” groups in the structural framework of the acaricides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Nature to the Lab: Extraction, Analysis, and Applications of Plant Bioactives and Synthetic Counterparts)
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