Apocynaceae Species: Biology, Ecology and Practical Uses

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 15088

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues

Apocynaceae is one of the most important plant families that comprises 410 genera and more than 5500 species that include trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and lianas, commonly named as the dogbane family. The well-known genera belonging to this family are Allamanda, Alstonia, Calotropis, Catharanthus, Cerbera, Kopsia, Melodinus, Nerium, Plumeria, Vallaris, etc. The Apocynaceae species are widespread in the regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and America, mostly in tropical and subtropical, as well as temperate regions. The main characteristic of the family is that almost all species produce white latex or, more rarely, watery juice. Apocynaceae species possess different compounds, such as alkaloids, cardenolides, triterpenoids, and iridoids, which contribute to their overall biological activity or toxicity. These classes of compounds are known to have a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic, and neuroprotective properties. Plants of the Apocynaceae family have had a great significance since the first commercial anticancer drugs of vincristine and vinblastine were developed from the Catharanthus roseus species. Additionally, Apocynaceae species are valuable in the cosmetic, flavoring, food, pesticide, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in horticulture. In this Special Issue, manuscripts addressing the morphology, anatomy, taxonomy, physiology, and ecology of Apocynaceae species are invited. Moreover, we encourage studies that report the methodology of cultivation and collection, as well as usage of Apocynaceae species in traditional and modern folk medicine. This Specieal Issue will also highlight papers describing the chemical diversity, isolation methods, chemical modification, as well as different in vitro and in vivo biological activities of Apocynaceae secondary metabolites.

Dr. Milan Stankovic
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

  • Apocynaceae
  • biology
  • ecology
  • natural products
  • ethnobotany
  • phytochemistry

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

19 pages, 19813 KiB  
Article
Three Alkaloids from an Apocynaceae Species, Aspidosperma spruceanum as Antileishmaniasis Agents by In Silico Demo-case Studies
by Diana Morales-Jadán, José Blanco-Salas, Trinidad Ruiz-Téllez and Francisco Centeno
Plants 2020, 9(8), 983; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9080983 - 3 Aug 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4148
Abstract
This paper is focused on demonstrating with a real case that Ethnobotany added to Bioinformatics is a promising tool for new drugs search. It encourages the in silico investigation of “challua kaspi”, a medicinal kichwa Amazonian plant (Aspidosperma spruceanum) against a Neglected [...] Read more.
This paper is focused on demonstrating with a real case that Ethnobotany added to Bioinformatics is a promising tool for new drugs search. It encourages the in silico investigation of “challua kaspi”, a medicinal kichwa Amazonian plant (Aspidosperma spruceanum) against a Neglected Tropical Disease, leishmaniasis. The illness affects over 150 million people especially in subtropical regions, there is no vaccination and conventional treatments are unsatisfactory. In attempts to find potent and safe inhibitors of its etiological agent, Leishmania, we recovered the published traditional knowledge on kichwa antimalarials and selected three A. spruceanum alkaloids, (aspidoalbine, aspidocarpine and tubotaiwine), to evaluate by molecular docking their activity upon five Leishmania targets: DHFR-TS, PTR1, PK, HGPRT and SQS enzymes. Our simulation results suggest that aspidoalbine interacts competitively with the five targets, with a greater affinity for the active site of PTR1 than some physiological ligands. Our virtual data also point to the demonstration of few side effects. The predicted binding free energy has a greater affinity to Leishmania proteins than to their homologous in humans (TS, DHR, PKLR, HGPRT and SQS), and there is no match with binding pockets of physiological importance. Keys for the in silico protocols applied are included in order to offer a standardized method replicable in other cases. Apocynaceae having ethnobotanical use can be virtually tested as molecular antileishmaniasis new drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Apocynaceae Species: Biology, Ecology and Practical Uses)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

27 pages, 510 KiB  
Review
Major Bioactive Alkaloids and Biological Activities of Tabernaemontana Species (Apocynaceae)
by Clarissa Marcelle Naidoo, Yougasphree Naidoo, Yaser Hassan Dewir, Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy, Salah El-Hendawy and Nasser Al-Suhaibani
Plants 2021, 10(2), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10020313 - 5 Feb 2021
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6984
Abstract
Several species belonging to the genus Tabernaemontana have been well researched and utilized for their wide-ranging biological activities. A few of the most prominent species include Tabernaemontana divaricata, Tabernaemontana catharinensis, Tabernaemontana crassa, and Tabernaemontana elegans. These species and many [...] Read more.
Several species belonging to the genus Tabernaemontana have been well researched and utilized for their wide-ranging biological activities. A few of the most prominent species include Tabernaemontana divaricata, Tabernaemontana catharinensis, Tabernaemontana crassa, and Tabernaemontana elegans. These species and many others within the genus often display pharmacological importance, which is habitually related to their chemical constituents. The secondary metabolites within the genus have demonstrated huge medicinal potential for the treatment of infections, pain, injuries, and various diseases. Regardless of the indispensable reports and properties displayed by Tabernaemontana spp., there remains a wide variety of plants that are yet to be considered or examined. Thus, an additional inclusive study on species within this genus is essential. The current review aimed to extensively analyze, collate, and describe an updated report of the current literature related to the major alkaloidal components and biological activities of species within the genus Tabernaemontana. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Apocynaceae Species: Biology, Ecology and Practical Uses)
Back to TopTop