Morphological Traits and Their Role in the Phytochemical Profiles of Medicinal Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1908

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli, 25, I-20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: medicinal plants; plant morpho-anatomy; microscopy; plant extracts; ecological role and biological activity of secondary metabolites; chemotaxonomy; ethnobotany
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli, 25, I-20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: medicinal plants; plant morpho-anatomy; microscopy; plant extracts; ecological role and biological activity of secondary metabolites; chemotaxonomy; ethnobotany
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the most recent results obtained in the morphology and phytochemistry of medicinal plants during the last years, encompassing chemosystematic and taxonomic investigations at species or lower and higher taxonomic levels, as well as ethnobotany-based studies on the biological activity of secondary metabolites.

This Special Issue aims to assemble all these fields of study and to enhance their importance in the discovery of botanical uses in modern industry and research. Therefore, this Special Issue valorises works that simultaneously contemplate multidisciplinary study approaches in which morphological and phytochemical investigations are pivotal within the overall research context. Special emphasis is given to works focused on secretory structures (epidermal or tissue) in relation to the type of productivity in secondary metabolites, with insights into their ecological role or biological activities. We anticipate original and novel works, concerning taxa never investigated before on the morpho-anatomical or ultrastructural descriptions performed by means of light and electron microscopy. Phytochemical characterizations or chemosystematic approaches, such as comparative HPLC-MS, GC-FID, GC-MS, NMR (and others) investigations, are also to be included. The proposal of histochemical investigations is highly encouraged. Comparative studies of secondary metabolites distribution at species level or within lower or higher taxa (e.g., subspecies, genus, or family) are particularly encouraged. Studies including morphometric or anatomical surveys that contribute at the elucidation or clarification of the taxonomy are also welcome, if accompained by in-depth and rigorous literature research on the secondary metabolite profiles. Finally, works that combine the above-mentioned morphological and phytochemical analyses in order to identify adulterations of species or misidentifications are expected.

To this purpose, we are glad to invite you to submit original research articles, reviews, opinion papers, and short communications.

Prof. Dr. Fico Gelsomina
Dr. Claudia Giuliani
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • morpho-anatomy
  • microscopy
  • phytochemistry
  • secondary metabolites
  • chemosystematics
  • taxonomy
  • ethnobotany
  • biological activity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

33 pages, 3460 KiB  
Article
From Traditional Medicine to the Laboratory: A Multidisciplinary Investigation on Agrimonia eupatoria L. Collected in Valle Imagna (BG, North of Italy)
by Fabrizia Milani, Chiara Muratore, Sara Biella, Martina Bottoni, Elio Rossi, Lorenzo Colombo, Paola Sira Colombo, Piero Bruschi, Alessio Papini, Paolo Landini, Claudia Giuliani, Fabrizio Araniti, Bhakti Prinsi and Gelsomina Fico
Plants 2025, 14(3), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14030340 - 23 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1692
Abstract
A previous ethnobotanical investigation conducted in Valle Imagna (Northern Italy) highlighted the traditional use of Agrimonia eupatoria L. (Rosaceae) as a disinfectant and wound-healing agent. This use seemed to be linked to a local 18th century manuscript. This species was chosen for a [...] Read more.
A previous ethnobotanical investigation conducted in Valle Imagna (Northern Italy) highlighted the traditional use of Agrimonia eupatoria L. (Rosaceae) as a disinfectant and wound-healing agent. This use seemed to be linked to a local 18th century manuscript. This species was chosen for a multidisciplinary investigation to validate or refute its traditional use in the valley. Samples from fresh leaves were observed under Scanning Electron and Light Microscopy. The phenolic profiles of an epicuticular aqueous extract of the whole leaves and of infusions and decoctions of leaves and aerial parts were analyzed through Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of fresh leaves were analyzed through Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction coupled with Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry. Growth inhibition and adhesion modulation were assessed on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and S. warneri by minimum inhibitory concentration and adhesion assays. Two trichome morphotypes were observed: a capitate with a one-celled rounded head and a capitate with a teo-celled cylindrical head. Both were responsible for producing terpenes, while the cylindrical capitates also produced polyphenols. Thirty-four phenolic compounds were characterized. Luteolin-7-O-glucoside, Catechin, and Epicatechin were common to all five extracts. The VOC profiles highlighted the dominance of (+)-α-Pinene. The infusions and the decoctions had a significant inhibitory activity on E. coli, and the extracts (specifically, the infusion of the leaves and both decoctions) also had a stimulating effect on the biofilm formation of S. warneri. These results already hold particular interest because of the strong connection they have to the traditional use of agrimony described in Valle Imagna. Full article
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