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Special Issue "Antioxidant in Plants - Discovery, Biosynthesis, Regulation and Application"

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Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 2832

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cerasela Elena Gîrd

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Phytotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 6 Traian Vuia Street, 020956 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: plant extracts; pharmacognosy; phytochemical analyses; antioxidant activity; phytotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Octavian Tudorel Olaru

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: anticancer research; pharmaceutical botany; pharmacognosy; alternative toxicology testing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants contain a variety of biologically active compounds, among which a variety of antioxidants are being studied and applied increasingly more frequently. Medicines, health products, food, cosmetics, and food preservation are among the many applications of these chemicals, which have considerable economic value, for example, flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, quinones, coumarin, and alkenoic acid.

Even though many natural antioxidants have been extensively studied, their biosynthetic pathways remain a mystery. There is little understanding of how they are produced, regulated, transported, and released. By combining multi-omics, biochemical, and evolutionary analyses, antioxidant anabolism can be better understood and utilized.

Meanwhile, plant antioxidants have always been a topic of widespread concern. Using the latest advances in extraction, purification, analysis, and identification technology, scientists are able to explore a wider range of substances. By using them in food and medicine, human beings can obtain cheap and safe resources. Improving the application of plant antioxidants and exploring their impact on human health is the goal of the food and pharmaceutical-related industries.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original papers and review articles on plant antioxidants, especially on their anabolism, extraction identification, and application.

Prof. Dr. Cerasela Elena Gîrd
Dr. Octavian Tudorel Olaru
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. 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

plant antioxidants
flavonoids
carotenoids
vitamin
bioactive compounds

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. (Lamiaceae) Hydroalcoholic Extract: Phytochemical Analysis, Antioxidant Activity and In Vitro Evaluation of Fatty Acid Accumulation

and

Plants 2023, 12(18), 3306; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183306 - 18 Sep 2023

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Abstract

Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. is a native Mediterranean shrub belonging to the Lamiaceae family and is well-known as a flavoring and spicing agent. In addition to its classical use, it has drawn attention because its biological activities, due particularly to the presence of polyphenols, including carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, and phenolic diterpenes as carnosol. In this study, the aerial part of rosemary was extracted with a hydroalcoholic solution through maceration, followed by ultrasound sonication, to obtain a terpenoids-rich Salvia rosmarinus extract (TRSrE) and a polyphenols-rich Salvia rosmarinus extract (PRSrE). After phytochemical characterization, both extracts were investigated for their antioxidant activity through a classical assay and with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) for their DPPH and hydroxyl radicals scavenging. Finally, their potential beneficial effects to reduce lipid accumulation in an in vitro model of NAFLD were evaluated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antioxidant in Plants - Discovery, Biosynthesis, Regulation and Application)

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Open AccessArticle

Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Potential of Selected Extracts from Betula alba var. pendula Roth., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., and Avena sativa L.

Dalila Teodora Balaci

Ancuța Cătălina Fița

Octavian Tudorel Olaru

Rica Boscencu

and

Cerasela Elena Gîrd

Plants 2023, 12(13), 2510; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12132510 - 30 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 763

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to obtain, characterize, and evaluate the antioxidant potential of some extracts obtained from the bark of Betula alba var. pendula Roth., the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra L., and the green herb of the Avena sativa. The results revealed that the lowest IC50 value, determined by all three methods, was obtained for Betulae extractum (BE) (73.6 µg/mL—DPPH method, 11.2 µg/mL—ABTS method, and 58.7 µg/mL—FRAP method), followed by Liquiritiae extractum (LE) (805.6 µg/mL, 92.1 µg/mL, and 722 µg/mL) and Avenae extractum (1.13 mg/mL—DPPH method, 99.7 µg/mL—ABTS method, and 135.1 µg/mL—FRAP method). These results correlate with total polyphenols content (expressed in g tannic acid/100 g dry extract), with BE having more polyphenols than LE and AE (47.96 ± 9.7083 for BE, compared with 9.31 ± 0.9913 for LE and 40.55 ± 6.3715 for AE). The total flavonoid content (expressed as g rutoside/100 g dry extract) is similar for BE and LE (3.75 ± 0.3140 and 3.44 ± 0.3037) and smaller for AE (1.95 ± 0.0526). Therefore, Betulae extractum has the strongest antioxidant action, with an IC50 value very close to the standard used as a reference (ascorbic acid—16.5 μg/mL solution). The FT-ICR-MS analysis confirmed the presence of the major compounds in all three extracts. The antioxidant properties of the studied extracts were further supported by molecular docking experiments that revealed the potential of the analyzed phytochemicals to act as both noncovalent and covalent activators of the Nrf2 signaling pathway, with promising benefits in treating various skin disorders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antioxidant in Plants - Discovery, Biosynthesis, Regulation and Application)

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Open AccessArticle

Essential Oils and Sustainability: In Vitro Bioactivity Screening of Myristica fragrans Houtt. Post-Distillation By-Products

Adriana Trifan

Gokhan Zengin

Izabela Korona-Glowniak

Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak

and

Simon Vlad Luca

Plants 2023, 12(9), 1741; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091741 - 23 Apr 2023

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Abstract

The essential oil of Myristica fragrans Hutt. (nutmeg) is an important commodity used as a flavoring agent in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic fields. Hydrodistillation is chiefly employed at the industrial scale for nutmeg essential oil isolation, but such a technique generates large quantities of post-distillation by-products (e.g., spent plant material and residual distillation water). Therefore, our work aimed to propose a novel strategy for the valorization of nutmeg wastes, with beneficial economic and ecological advantages. Thus, the current study assessed the phytochemical (GC-MS, LC-HRMS/MS) and biological (antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, antimicrobial) profile of nutmeg crude materials (essential oil and total extract) and post-distillation by-products (residual water and spent material extract). Identified in these were 43 volatile compounds, with sabinene (21.71%), α-pinene (15.81%), myristicin (13.39%), and β-pinene (12.70%) as the main constituents. LC-HRMS/MS analysis of the nutmeg extracts noted fifteen metabolites (e.g., organic acids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, and diarylnonanoids). Among the investigated nutmeg samples, the spent material extract was highlighted as an important source of bioactive compounds, with a total phenolic and flavonoid content of 63.31 ± 0.72 mg GAE/g and 8.31 ± 0.06 mg RE/g, respectively. Moreover, it showed prominent radical-scavenging and metal-reducing properties and significantly inhibited butyrylcholinesterase (4.78 ± 0.03 mg GALAE/g). Further, the spent material extract displayed strong antimicrobial effects against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Micrococcus luteus, and Bacillus cereus (minimum inhibitory concentrations of 62.5 mg/L). Overall, our study brings evidence on the health-promoting (antioxidant, anti-enzymatic, antimicrobial) potential of nutmeg post-distillation by-products with future reference to their valorization in the pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, and food industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antioxidant in Plants - Discovery, Biosynthesis, Regulation and Application)

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