Molecules

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Magdalena Ligor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Chemistry and Ecoanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Gagarin 7, PL-87 100 Torun, Poland
Interests: chromatographic techniques (GC/MS, LC/MS, TLC-MS); sample preparation methods (SPME, SPE, LLE); analysis of plant materials; food and water; determination of VOCs; biomedical chemistry; trace analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Szydłowska-Czerniak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernitus University in Toruń, Toruń, Poland
Interests: antioxidant capacity; new synthetic antioxidants; oilseeds; vegetable oils; emulsions; confectionery; biodegradable smart packaging; new analytical methods; spectroscopic techniques; chemometric tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to the presence of biologically active compounds, many extracts obtained from natural products have various antioxidant, anti-inﬂammatory, antifungal, and other properties. These components are widely spread in herbs, fruits, and natural products. Their isolation, separation, and analysis are of great interest in several fields, such as the pharmaceutical and food industries, biochemistry, medical cell biology, nutrition, and biotechnology research. In recent years, the most frequently used approaches, including the selective isolation, preconcentration, and separation of primary and secondary plant metabolites, especially sugars (including cyclitols), polyphenols, terpenes, carotenoids, nitrogen-containing alkaloids, and saponins, present in a range of complex matrices, have been subject to discussion. Various conventional and nonconventional sample preparation methods have been used for the extraction of the abovementioned compounds. Moreover, chromatographic techniques, which are characterized by high sensitivity, selectivity, and versatility, are widely applied for the determination of these compounds.

This Special Issue is dedicated to featuring the latest research that is ongoing in the field of bioactive natural products. It is expected that most submissions will focus on the methodology of the isolation and determination of biologically active compounds, but structural analyses will also be considered. Original research (communications, full papers, and reviews) that discusses innovative methodologies for the research of bioactive natural products with potential applications in various industries is therefore welcome.

Dr. Magdalena Ligor
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Szydłowska-Czerniak
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. Molecules 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.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

25 pages, 3061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Studies of Extracts Obtained from Brassica oleracea L. Plants at Different Stages of Growth by Isolation and Determination of Isothiocyanates: An Assessment of Chemopreventive Properties of Broccoli

by Magdalena Ligor, Małgorzata Szultka-Młyńska, Katarzyna Rafińska and Agata Cwudzińska

Molecules 2024, 29(2), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29020519 - 20 Jan 2024

Viewed by 838

Abstract

The main goal of this work was to develop analytical procedures for the isolation and determination of selected isothiocyanates. As an example, particularly sulforaphane from plants of the Brassicaceae Burnett or Cruciferae Juss family. The applied methodology was mainly based on classical extraction methods and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Moreover, the effect of temperature on the release of isothiocyanates from plant cells was considered. The cytotoxic activity of the obtained plant extracts against a selected cancer cell line has also been included. The results allow evaluating the usefulness of obtained plant extracts and raw sprouts regarding their content of isothiocyanates—bioactive compounds with chemopreventive properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Structure Determination of Bioactive Natural Products (2nd Edition))

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

11 pages, 984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anticholinesterase and Antityrosinase Secondary Metabolites from the Fungus Xylobolus subpileatus

by Kristóf Felegyi, Zsófia Garádi, Elżbieta Studzińska-Sroka, Viktor Papp, Imre Boldizsár, András Dancsó, Szabolcs Béni, Przemysław Zalewski and Attila Ványolós

Molecules 2024, 29(1), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29010213 - 30 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1028

Abstract

Xylobolus subpileatus is a widely distributed crust fungus reported from all continents except Antarctica, although considered a rare species in several European countries. Profound mycochemical analysis of the methanol extract of X. subpileatus resulted in the isolation of seven compounds (1–7). Among them, (3β,22E)-3-methoxy-ergosta-4,6,8¹⁴,22-tetraene (1) is a new natural product, while the NMR assignment of its already known epimer (2) has been revised. In addition to a benzohydrofuran derivative fomannoxin (3), four ergostane-type triterpenes 4–7 were identified. The structure elucidation of the isolated metabolites was performed by one- and two-dimensional NMR and MS analysis. Compounds 2–7 as well as the chloroform, n-hexane, and methanol extracts of X. subpileatus were evaluated for their tyrosinase, acetylcholinesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory properties. Among the examined compounds, only fomannoxin (3) displayed the antityrosinase property with 51% of inhibition, and the fungal steroids proved to be inactive. Regarding the potential acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of the fungal extracts and metabolites, it was demonstrated that the chloroform extract and compounds 3–4 exerted noteworthy inhibitory activity, with 83.86 and 32.99%, respectively. The butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory assay revealed that methanol and chloroform extracts, as well as compounds 3 and 4, exerted notable activity, while the rest of the compounds proved to be only weak enzyme inhibitors. Our study represents the first report on the chemical profile of basidiome of the wild-growing X. subpileatus, offering a thorough study on the isolation and structure determination of the most characteristic biologically active constituents of this species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Structure Determination of Bioactive Natural Products (2nd Edition))

► Show Figures