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Processes
Special Issues
Pharmaceutical Potential and Application Research of Natural Products
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Pharmaceutical Potential and Application Research of Natural Products

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1115

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Douglas Siqueira de Almeida Chaves

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Guest Editor
Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil
Interests: pharmacognosy; natural products; essential oil; ethnopharmacology; pharmaceutical science; biological activity; phytochemicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gerardo Fernández Barbero

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Guest Editor
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Wine and Agrifood Research Institute (IVAGRO), University of Cadiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Interests: natural products; analytical methods; antioxidant compounds; phenolic compounds; food analysis; biological activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Valdir Florencio Da Veiga Junior

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Guest Editor
Chemistry Department, Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro 22250-060, Brazil
Interests: high-value phytochemical resources; DoE; biomass; phytochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products have always been the focus of attention in developing new drugs that can be applied in current medicine. However, new processes for obtaining these metabolites are constantly required.

This Special Issue aims to address the development of processes for obtaining metabolites of natural origin and the development of chemical-pharmaceutical products, ensuring that the final products meet the market's needs in industries such as chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and others. This development is essential to ensure that finished products are efficient, safe, and economically viable.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Optimization of processing to obtain high yields of secondary metabolites in extracts.
  • Use of techniques to assess the compatibility of natural products in pharmaceutical formulations.
  • Green processes for obtaining extracts and isolating new molecules.

Optimization of pharmaceutical processing and extraction through mathematical calculations.

Dr. Douglas Siqueira de Almeida Chaves
Prof. Dr. Gerardo Fernández Barbero
Prof. Dr. Valdir Florencio Da Veiga Junior
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. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

  • natural products
  • green chemistry
  • nanotechnology
  • natural and herbal remedies processing
  • purification
  • extract
  • pharmacognosy
  • Box–Behnken design
  • response surface methodology

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 708 KB  
Article
Innovative Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction for Phenolic and Antioxidant Evaluation of Brazilian Green Propolis
by Debora B. Pereira, Gerardo Fernández Barbero, Ceferino Carrera, Miguel Palma, Neide M. M. Epifânio, Taina C. Kawahito, Valdir V. Júnior and Douglas S. A. Chaves
Processes 2025, 13(9), 2880; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092880 - 9 Sep 2025
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Abstract
Phenolic compounds are the main components of green propolis, including its chemical marker Artepellin C. These compounds are well known for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties, which have prompted numerous studies investigating both their chemical composition and biological activities. In this [...] Read more.
Phenolic compounds are the main components of green propolis, including its chemical marker Artepellin C. These compounds are well known for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties, which have prompted numerous studies investigating both their chemical composition and biological activities. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and response surface methodology (RSM) were applied to optimize the process of extracting phenolic compounds in Brazilian green propolis using methanol and ethanol as extraction solvents. The results showed that the ideal conditions for extracting simple phenolics with ethanol were 50% ethanol/water, 20 °C, 20% amplitude, and a 0.6 s−1 cycle; for complex phenolics, the ideal conditions were 80% ethanol, 60 °C, a 43% amplitude, and a 0.8 s−1 cycle. Using methanol, the ideal conditions were 100% solvent, 37 °C, a 38% amplitude, and a 0.2 s−1 cycles. These findings have significant practical applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries, enabling the standardized and efficient extraction of bioactive compounds from propolis for the development of functional products, such as dietary supplements, natural preservatives, and therapeutic formulations. This approach also minimizes solvent use and reduces environmental impact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical Potential and Application Research of Natural Products)
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13 pages, 2940 KB  
Article
Extraction and Characterization of the Functional Properties of Starch from Miso (Mirabilis expansa [Ruíz & Pav.] Standl.): A Non-Conventional Source
by Santiago Cadena-Carrera, Vanessa Peñafiel, Esteban Fuentes, Lorena Núñez, Gabriela Vaca and Deise Tramontin
Processes 2025, 13(8), 2552; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13082552 - 13 Aug 2025
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Abstract
Mirabilis expansa root (MER) is an Andean source of starch that could be considered a “lost crop” by the scarcity of its cultivation. Consequently, few studies have reported on its functional properties. To address this gap, we herein analyze and characterize the main [...] Read more.
Mirabilis expansa root (MER) is an Andean source of starch that could be considered a “lost crop” by the scarcity of its cultivation. Consequently, few studies have reported on its functional properties. To address this gap, we herein analyze and characterize the main components of MER and Mirabilis expansa starch (MES), measuring the water-absorption index (WAI), swelling power (SP), and water solubility index (WSI). We characterized the MES morphological and structural properties by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the starch pasting properties using a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) to determine the peak viscosity (PV), final viscosity (FV), pasting temperature (PT), breakdown (BD), and setback (SB). The thermal properties were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the crystallinity by X-ray diffraction, and the molecular structure by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The main components in the MER and MES were carbohydrates and crude fiber. The MES appeared rich in amylopectin. The functional properties, the WAI, SP, and WSI, were dependent on temperature. The MES showed no morphological changes, a moderate gelatinization temperature, and C-type crystallinity. Finally, the FTIR spectrum presented the typical form for an unmodified starch. Based on these results, Mirabilis expansa may be considered a natural, non-conventional source of starch with potential applications in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical Potential and Application Research of Natural Products)
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