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Biosynthesis, Functions and Applications of Plant Secondary Metabolites
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Biosynthesis, Functions and Applications of Plant Secondary Metabolites

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 10523

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Isabel Nogués

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, CNR, Via Salaria Km. 29,300, 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy
Interests: plant physiology; plant biochemistry; terpenoids; plant defense; abiotic stress; antioxidants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant secondary metabolites are a group of naturally occurring compounds that are not involved in primary plant processes such as growth, resource acquisition and development, but have a special role in plant–environment interactions, adaptation to environmental stresses, and defence against biotic threats and thus, are indispensable for plant survival. Moreover, many secondary metabolites have been reported to have antimicrobial, antioxidant and phytochemical properties making them of great interest in the nutritional, pharmaceutical and medical field.

Their biosynthesis may be constitutive or provoked/enhanced by biotic or abiotic stresses and their concentration has been found to vary among different plant species and to be organ-specific. Groups of plant secondary metabolites include: terpenoids, phenolic compounds alkaloids, sulphur-containing compounds, benzoxazinoids, cyanogenic glycosides and green-leaf volatiles.

The chemical diversity and distribution of plant secondary metabolites indicate multiple biological activities, functions and potential applications. Understanding the mechanisms regulating their biosynthesis, and accumulation, would help to define new strategies to enhance stress tolerance in plants. It is also necessary to improve our knowledge about their biological function for possible applications in pharmacology and nutrition.

This Special Issue will be dedicated to the study of the different types of secondary metabolites in plants. In particular, we invite manuscripts on secondary metabolites biosynthesis, regulation and functions in plants as well as on their application as active biological molecules in the pharmaceutical, nutritional and agricultural industries. All studies, including research papers and reviews related to these items, will be considered for publication.

Dr. Isabel Nogués
Guest Editor

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

  • Active biological molecules
  • Phytochemistry
  • Sulphur-containing compounds
  • Alkaloids
  • Phenolic compounds
  • Terpenoids
  • Plant defense
  • Plant-environment interactions
  • Biotic and abiotic stresses

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1372 KiB  
Article
Metabolic Diversity of Flavonoids and Antioxidant Potential for Characterization of Underutilized Citrus Species for Nutritional Security
by Dinesh Kumar, Milind Shivratan Ladaniya, Manju Gurjar, Sunil Kumar and Sachin Mendke
Plants 2022, 11(7), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11070862 - 24 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3850
Abstract
Citrus fruits are grown commercially throughout the world. They are widely consumed due to their nutrients, use in energy supplements, and numerous health benefits. There is significant interest among consumers about this naturally available source, rich in flavonoids and antioxidants. However, underutilized citrus [...] Read more.
Citrus fruits are grown commercially throughout the world. They are widely consumed due to their nutrients, use in energy supplements, and numerous health benefits. There is significant interest among consumers about this naturally available source, rich in flavonoids and antioxidants. However, underutilized citrus varieties remain unexplored due to the lack of information about the pool of nutritive properties they confer. Ten underutilized citrus varieties were collected from Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India, identified by UNESCO as a Biosphere reserve, to study the diversity in terms of limonin, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, browning, flavonoids, total phenol, and antioxidant activity, the contents of which varied significantly among different citrus cultivars. The results indicated that Citron and Pomelo were good sources of ascorbic acid (29.50 and 45.09 mg/100 mL), and that Khasi papeda was found to contain lower limonin content (9.21 ppm). However, in terms of flavonoids, Khasi papeda and Pomelo were found to exhibit a higher naringin content (189.13 ppm and 32.15 ppm), whereas the hesperidin content was highest in Kachai lemon, Khasi papeda, and Chinotto, at 199.51 ppm, 148.04 ppm, and 135.88 ppm, respectively. Antioxidant activity was assessed by three antioxidant assays (ABTS+ (radical cation azino-bis [3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid]) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP)). Khasi papeda (7.48 mM L−1 Trolox), Chinotto (7.48 mM L−1 Trolox), and Pomelo (7.48 mM L−1 Trolox) exhibited the highest reducing power with DPPH radical scavenging activity, and Khasi papeda (15.41 mg GAE L−1) possessed a higher phenolic content, whereas the antioxidant activity when assessed with ABTS and FRAP assays was highest among the underutilized species of Khasi papeda (4.84 mM L−1 Trolox, 1.93 mM L−1 Trolox) and Ada Jamir (4.96 mM L−1 Trolox, 2.03 mM L−1 Trolox), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is among the very few papers presenting comprehensive data on the metabolic diversity of flavonoids and antioxidant potential to characterize the underutilized citrus species. This study also demonstrated that Khasi papeda, Pomelo, Chinotto, and Kachai lemon can serve as potential sources of functional components, bioactive compounds, and antioxidants, which can be explored for further application in the processing industry for nutritional security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosynthesis, Functions and Applications of Plant Secondary Metabolites)
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19 pages, 3817 KiB  
Article
Anti-Diabetic Activity of Bioactive Compound Extracted from Spondias mangifera Fruit: In-Vitro and Molecular Docking Approaches
by Mohammad Khalid, Mohammed H. Alqarni, Abdulrhman Alsayari, Ahmed I. Foudah, Tariq M. Aljarba, Mohammad Mukim, Mubarak A. Alamri, Shahabe Saquib Abullais and Shadma Wahab
Plants 2022, 11(4), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11040562 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2910
Abstract
Spondias mangifera is a drupaceous fruit popular for its flavour and health advantages. There is little scientific knowledge about S. mangifera, despite its widespread usage in traditional medicine, in the North-Eastern region of India. Inhibiting the key carbohydrate hydrolysing enzymes is one [...] Read more.
Spondias mangifera is a drupaceous fruit popular for its flavour and health advantages. There is little scientific knowledge about S. mangifera, despite its widespread usage in traditional medicine, in the North-Eastern region of India. Inhibiting the key carbohydrate hydrolysing enzymes is one of the strategies for managing diabetes. Therefore, this study studied the antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties of different fraction S. mangifera fruit extract (SMFFs) from Indian geographical origin by in vitro experimental assays and silico docking simulation studies. The ADMET prediction for active substances was also investigated using the AdmetSAR database. Based on the binding affinity/molecular interactions between phytocompounds and target enzymes, in silico investigations were done to confirm the in vitro enzymatic inhibitory capability. β-sitosterol in EtOH-F was analysed using RP-HPLC with RP-C18 column as stationary phase and photo diode array detector. The percentage of β-sitosterol was found to be 1.21% ± 0.17% of total weight of extract (w/w). S. mangifera fruit ethanolic extract had a significant inhibitory concentration of 50% against free radicals produced by ABTS (89.71 ± 2.73%) and lipid peroxidation assay (88.26 ± 2.17%) tests. Similarly, the in vitro antidiabetic test findings indicated that S. mangifera inhibited alpha-amylase (73.42 ± 2.01%) and alpha-glucosidase (79.23 ± 1.98%) enzymes dose-dependently. The maximum glycosylated Hb percentage inhibitory activity shown in the ethanolic fraction was (83.97 ± 2.88%) at 500 µg/mL. The glucose uptake of the ethanolic fraction by the yeast cell showed significant (p < 0.05) at 500 µg/mL when compared with metformin (91.37 ± 1.59%), whereas the other fraction did not show the uptake of glucose by the yeast cell at the same concentration. In the docking study, the main phytoconstituents of S. mangifera fruit, such as oleanolic acid, beta-sitosterol, and beta amyrin, show strong affinity for pancreatic α-amylase. These results imply that S. mangifera has α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory properties and may be used as antidiabetic with antioxidant characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosynthesis, Functions and Applications of Plant Secondary Metabolites)
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18 pages, 9121 KiB  
Article
Ontogenetic Changes in the Chemical Profiles of Piper Species
by Anderson Melo Gaia, Lydia Fumiko Yamaguchi, Camilo Guerrero-Perilla and Massuo Jorge Kato
Plants 2021, 10(6), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10061085 - 28 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2864
Abstract
The chemical composition of seedlings and adult plants of several Piper species were analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and HPLC-DAD, HPLC-HRESIMS and GC-MS data. The chromatographic profile of crude extracts from leaves of Piper species showed [...] Read more.
The chemical composition of seedlings and adult plants of several Piper species were analyzed by 1H NMR spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and HPLC-DAD, HPLC-HRESIMS and GC-MS data. The chromatographic profile of crude extracts from leaves of Piper species showed remarkable differences between seedlings and adult plants. Adult leaves of P. regnellii accumulate dihydrobenzofuran neolignans, P. solmsianum contain tetrahydrofuran lignans, and prenylated benzoic acids are found in adult leaves of P. hemmendorffii and P. caldense. Seedlings produced an entirely different collection of compounds. Piper gaudichaudianum and P. solmsianum seedlings contain the phenylpropanoid dillapiole. Piper regnellii and P. hemmendorffii produce another phenylpropanoid, apiol, while isoasarone is found in P. caldense. Piper richadiaefolium and P. permucronatum contain dibenzylbutyrolactones lignans or flavonoids in adult leaves. Seedlings of P. richardiaefolium produce multiple amides, while P. permucronatum seedlings contain a new long chain ester. Piper tuberculatum, P. reticulatum and P. amalago produce amides, and their chemistry changes less during ontogeny. The chemical variation we documented opens questions about changes in herbivore pressure across ontogeny. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosynthesis, Functions and Applications of Plant Secondary Metabolites)
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