Plant Natural Products: Extraction and Antioxidant Activity

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 811

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Suipacha 531, Rosario S2002LRK, Argentina
2. Farmacognosia, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, Rosario S2002LRK, Argentina
Interests: bioactive natural products; chemically engineered extracts; effect-directed synthesis; dynamic combinatorial chemistry; systems chemistry; effect-directed analysis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Farmacognosia, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rosario, Argentina
Interests: bioactive natural products; chemically engineered extracts; effect-directed analysis; chemical, enzymatic, and cell-based autographic assays; enzyme kinetics

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, Rosario 2000, Argentina
2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Suipacha 531, Rosario 2000, Argentina
Interests: biological activity of organic compounds; chemically engineered extracts; chromatography and spectroscopy mixture analysis; bioactive profiles of mixtures analysis; enzymes; bioguided extraction; structure elucidation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products continue to provide an exceptional reservoir of bioactive compounds with roles in redox regulation and enzymatic control. Growing interest in plant-derived antioxidants and inhibitors of oxidative enzymes has intensified research on their mechanisms, ecological functions, and potential applications in health, agriculture, food, and biotechnology. This Special Issue focuses on natural products or plant extracts with demonstrated antioxidant activity or inhibitory effects on oxidative enzymes such as oxidases, peroxidases, lipoxygenases, and other redox-driven catalytic systems. We welcome contributions that combine phytochemical characterization, isolation of natural compounds, chromatographic or spectroscopic profiling, bioassay-guided studies, enzyme inhibition assays, mechanistic evaluations, and computational or molecular approaches. Submissions addressing structure–activity relationships, quantification of bioactivity, synergistic interactions within characterized complex matrices, or advances in analytical and bioautographic methods are particularly encouraged. Research on underexplored species, sustainable sourcing, and innovative or green extraction technologies also fits within the scope. Both original research articles and well-structured review papers are invited. By bringing together high-quality studies, this Special Issue aims to highlight current progress and future opportunities in understanding and harnessing plant-derived antioxidants and oxidative enzyme inhibitors.

Prof. Dr. Ricardo L. E. Furlan
Dr. Ivana Ayelen Ramallo
Dr. Mario Oscar Salazar
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • natural products
  • plant extracts
  • antioxidant activity
  • oxidative enzymes
  • enzyme inhibition
  • phytochemical profiling
  • structure–activity relationships
  • chromatographic analysis
  • bioassay-guided studies
  • lipoxygenase/oxidase inhibitor

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 1651 KB  
Article
Antioxidant Properties and Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Eminium rauwolffii: LC-MS/MS-Based Polyphenolic Profiling
by Kübra Aslan, Hasan Karageçili, Veysel Tahiroglu, Emrah Yerlikaya, Mustafa Abdullah Yılmaz, Mehmet Fidan and İlhami Gülçin
Plants 2026, 15(9), 1311; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15091311 - 24 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Eminium rauwolffii (Blume) Schott var. rauwolffii is a member of the Araceae a large and mainly tropical family distributed worldwide. The Eminium species are utilized for various purposes including therapeutic uses in traditional medicine and as food. To analyze the antioxidant properties of [...] Read more.
Eminium rauwolffii (Blume) Schott var. rauwolffii is a member of the Araceae a large and mainly tropical family distributed worldwide. The Eminium species are utilized for various purposes including therapeutic uses in traditional medicine and as food. To analyze the antioxidant properties of water extract of E. rauwolffii (WEER) and ethanol extract of E. rauwolffii (EEER), 2,2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS•+) radical and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) free radical scavenging, Fe3+-2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-S-triazine (TPTZ) and Cu2+ reducing assays were studied. Antioxidant activities and reducing properties of both extracts were compared to standard antioxidants: BHT, BHA, α-Tocopherol, and Trolox. The IC50 values of EEER for radical scavenging were higher than those of standard antioxidants (25.35 ± 1.42 μg/mL for ABTS•+ and 106.80 ± 1.88 μg/mL for DPPH). The total phenolic and flavonoid quantities in WEER and EEER were measured in the range of 189.78 ± 0.01 to 298.54 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g and 89.37 ± 0.01 to 178.95 ± 0.01 mg QE/g, respectively. The IC50 values for EEER and WEER against α-glycosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and carbonic anhydrase I and II (hCA I and II) enzymes were 10.79 ± 5.61 to 13.18 ± 5.77, 36.14 ± 4.61 to 62.63 ± 1.67, 69.37 ± 7.36 to 37.48 ± 0.27, 81.30 ± 5.95 to 62.35 ± 8.03, and 29.34 ± 1.38 to 115.90 ± 3.3 µg/mL respectively. The antioxidant activity and enzymes inhibitory capacity of WEER were close, and comparable to the capacity demonstrated by the standards. The amount of sixteen compounds was identified from EEER. Numerous phytochemicals, including cynaroside, p-coumaric acid, cosmosiin, caffeic acid, and quinic acid, were quantitatively determined using the LC-MS/MS method. This clearly indicates that phenolic- and flavonoid-rich E. rauwolffii may have potential in the management of glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cardiovascular, and cancer disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Natural Products: Extraction and Antioxidant Activity)
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