Submit to Plants Review for Plants Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Related Special Issue
Published Papers

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 13791

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Salvatore Antonino Raccuia

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor

Department of Biology, Agriculture and Food Science, National Research Council (Cnr), 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant biology; plant genetics; ecophysiology; antioxidants; nutraceuticals; food and nutrition; genetic diversity; green chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Green plants are the most important biofactories on our planet. Starting from the conversion of large quantities of carbon dioxide into sugars, they produce different structural molecules or molecules destined for the accumulation of carbon, also well known for their industrial applications (starch, inulin, cellulose, lignin). In addition to these, they also synthesize hundreds of thousands of molecules that play a fundamental role in adapting plants to the environmental stresses typical of each individual ecological niche. Also called secondary metabolites, these compounds play a fundamental role for the survival of plants on our planet. These molecules with marked biological activities have been used for thousands of years by humans thanks to the bioactive properties they often have. For these reasons, they represent one of the most important research fields in the world of plants.

Dr. Salvatore Antonino Raccuia
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

genomics
biosynthesis
analysis
composition
biological activities in the plant
ecological function
biological activities in pharmaceutics
biological activities and nutraceuticals

Related Special Issue

Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites in Plants (9 articles)

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

20 pages, 2927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) Waste Biomass after Harvesting as a Source of Valuable Biologically Active Compounds with Nutraceutical and Antibacterial Potential

by Sarmite Janceva, Anna Andersone, Liga Lauberte, Oskars Bikovens, Vizma Nikolajeva, Lilija Jashina, Natalija Zaharova, Galina Telysheva, Maris Senkovs, Gints Rieksts, Anna Ramata-Stunda and Jelena Krasilnikova

Plants 2022, 11(5), 642; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050642 - 26 Feb 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2903

Abstract

For sustainable sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berry production, the task at hand is to find an application for the large amount of biomass waste arising at harvesting. Sea buckthorn (SBT) vegetation is currently poorly studied. The purpose of this research was to assess the composition and potential of SBT twigs as a source of valuable biologically active substances. Water and 50% EtOH extracts of twigs of three Latvian SBT cultivars with a high berry yield and quality, popular for cultivation in many countries (H. rhamnoides ‘Maria Bruvele’, ‘Tatiana’, ‘Botanicheskaya Lubitelskaya’), were investigated for the first time. The phytochemical composition (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis) and biological activity of the obtained hydrophilic extracts were determined. The highest yield of polyphenolic compounds and serotonin was observed for ‘Maria Bruvele’. Hydrophilic extracts were investigated for radical scavenging activity (DPPH˙ test), antibacterial/antifungal activity against five pathogenic bacteria/yeast, cytotoxicity, and the enzymatic activity of alpha-amylase (via in vitro testing), which is extremely important for the treatment of people with underweight, wasting, and malabsorption. The results showed a high potential of sea buckthorn biomass as a source of valuable biologically active compounds for the creation of preparations for the food industry, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Growth Promoting Activity of Annona muricata L. Leaf Extracts on Lactobacillus casei

by Nimcy Noemí Meza-Gutiérrez, Paola Magallón-Servín, Rosendo Balois-Morales, Iza Fernanda Pérez-Ramírez, Graciela Guadalupe López-Guzmán, Guillermo Berumen-Varela and Pedro Ulises Bautista-Rosales

Plants 2022, 11(5), 581; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050581 - 22 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3749

Abstract

Soursop leaves are a source of phytochemical compounds, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, hydrolyzable tannins, and acetogenins. These compounds can have several types of biological activities. Lactic acid bacteria can uptake phenolic compounds present in plants or fruits. The aim of the present work was to investigate the in vitro effect of hexane, acetone, methanolic, and aqueous extracts of soursop leaves (Annona muricata L.) on the growth, motility, and biofilm formation of Lactobacillus casei, and to determine compounds related to growth. The minimum concentration promoting growth, motility (swimming, swarming, and twitching), and biofilm-forming capacity (crystal violet) were evaluated. The results showed the growth-promoting capacity of acetone and aqueous extracts at low doses 25–50 mg/L, and an inhibition in the four extracts at higher doses of 100 mg/L. The L. casei growth is related to ellagic acid, quercetin rhamnoside, kaempferol dihexoside, quercetin hexoside, secoisolariciresinol, and kaempferol hexoside-rhamnoside. Hexane extract increased the three types of motility, while aqueous maintained swimming and twitching motility similar to control. The four extracts inhibited the biofilm formation capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome Estimation and Phytochemical Compound Identification in the Leaves and Callus of Abrus precatorius: A Locally Endangered Plant from the Flora of Saudi Arabia

by Fahad Al-Qurainy, Mohamed Tarroum, Salim Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Abdel-Rhman Z. Gaafar, Saleh Alansi and Norah S. Alfarraj

Plants 2022, 11(4), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11040567 - 21 Feb 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2527

Abstract

Abrus precatorius is considered to be a valuable source of natural products for the development of drugs against various diseases. Herein, the genome size and phytochemical compounds in the leaves and callus of A. precatorius were evaluated. The endangered A. precatorius was collected from the Al-Baha mountains, Saudi Arabia and identified based on the phylogenetic analysis of a DNA sequence amplified by ITS1 and ITS4 primers. The callus was induced by the culture of stem explants onto Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) supplemented with various combinations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4D) and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP). The callus with the highest fresh weight (2.03 g) was obtained in the medium containing 0.5µM BA and 5 µM 2,4-D after 8 weeks of culture; thus, the callus of this combination was selected for the genome estimation and phytochemical compound extraction. The genetic stability of the leaves from the donor as well as in the regenerated callus was analyzed by flow cytometry with optimized tomato (2C = 1.96 pg) as an external reference standard. The 2C DNA content was estimated to 1.810 pg ± 0.008 and 1.813 pg ± 0.004 for the leaves and callus, respectively. Then, the total phenol and total flavonoid contents in the methanol extract of the callus and leaves were measured using a spectrophotometer and the High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC ) methods. The results showed that the methanolic extract of the leaves was higher in total phenols and total flavonoids than the callus extract. Finally, the extracts of callus and leaves were analyzed for phytochemical compound through the Gas chromatography and Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). A total of 22 and 28 compounds were detected in the callus and leaves, respectively. The comparative analysis showed that 12 compounds of the secondary metabolites were present in both extracts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 1757 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioguided Isolation of Alkaloids and Pharmacological Effects of the Total Alkaloid Fraction from Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart. (Apocynaceae)

by Francisca Sabrina Vieira Lins, Vanessa Farias da Silva, Josean Fechine Tavares, Vanda Lúcia dos Santos and Harley da Silva Alves

Plants 2021, 10(11), 2526; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112526 - 20 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1642

Abstract

Aspidosperma pyrifolium is used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory disorders. The aim of the study was to perform phytochemical characterization and evaluate the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and acute toxicity effects of the total alkaloid fraction (TAF-Ap) from stem barks. Two monoterpenic indole alkaloids were isolated by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and the structural elucidation was performed using 1D and 2D NMR analysis. As for toxicity, no animals died at 50 mg kg⁻¹ and this concentration presented mild sedation and forced breathing within the first 24 h. The lethal dose capable of killing 50% of the animals (LD₅₀) was estimated to be 160 mg kg⁻¹. In the pharmacological tests, the models used were 1% carrageenan-induced paw edema and peritonitis, 1% formalin-induced nociception and 1% acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing in Swiss mice. The study made it possible to isolate 15-methoxyaspidospermine and 15-methoxypyrifolidine, corroborating the results of pharmacological assays, which showed anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential, especially at 30 mg kg⁻¹ (p < 0.001). Thus, the species was shown to be a promising source of active substances, with special attention paid to its toxicological potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1032 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Discrimination of the Essential Oils Obtained from Four Apiaceae Species Using Multivariate Analysis Based on the Chemical Compositions and Their Biological Activity

by Dilafruz N. Jamalova, Haidy A. Gad, Davlat K. Akramov, Komiljon S. Tojibaev, Nawal M. Al Musayeib, Mohamed L. Ashour and Nilufar Z. Mamadalieva

Plants 2021, 10(8), 1529; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081529 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2297

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of four Apiaceae species, namely Elaeosticta allioides (EA), E. polycarpa (EP), Ferula clematidifolia (FC), and Hyalolaena intermedia (HI), were determined using gas chromatography. Altogether, 100 volatile metabolites representing 78.97, 81.03, 85.78, and 84.49% of the total components present in EA, EP, FC, and HI oils, respectively, were reported. allo-Ocimene (14.55%) was the major component in FC, followed by D-limonene (9.42%). However, in EA, germacrene D (16.09%) was present in a high amount, while heptanal (36.89%) was the predominant compound in HI. The gas chromatographic data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to explore the correlations between these species. Fortunately, the PCA score plot could differentiate between the species and correlate Ferula to Elaeosticta species. Additionally, the antioxidant activity was evaluated in vitro using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and the ferric reducing power (FRAP) assays. In addition, the antimicrobial activity using the agar diffusion method was assessed, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined. Furthermore, the cell viability MTT assay was performed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the essential oils against hepatic (HepG-2) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines. In the DPPH assay, FC exhibited the maximum activity against all the antioxidant assays with IC50 values of 19.8 and 23.0 μg/mL for the DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. Ferula showed superior antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities as well. Finally, a partial least square regression model was constructed to predict the antioxidant capacity by utilizing the metabolite profiling data. The model showed excellent predictive ability by applying the ABTS assay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Composition and Biological Activities of Plant Secondary Metabolites 2.0

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI