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Plants
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Bioactivities of Nature Products
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Bioactivities of Nature Products

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 8601

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luis Ricardo Hernández

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Santa Catarina Mártir s/n, 72810, Cholula, Puebla, Mexico
Interests: Chemistry; Natural Products Chemistry; Natural Products Activities; Spectroscopy Analysis; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Dr. Eugenio Sánchez-Arreola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Investigación Fitoquímica, Departamento de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Ex Hacienda Sta. Catarina Mártir S/N, San Andrés Cholula 72810, Mexico.
Interests: Traditional Medicinal Plants; Natural Products Isolation; Bioactive Natural Products; Chromatography Techniques; Spectroscopy Analysis.
Dr. Edgar López-Mena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Campus Guadalajara, Av. Gral. Ramón Corona No 2514, Colonia Nuevo México, Zapopan, Jalisco, 45121, México.
Interests: Nanoscience; Nanotechnology; Solid- State Physics; Bioactive Nanomaterials; Bioactive Compounds.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive natural products can be found among animals, terrestrial or marine microorganisms, foods, herbs, and plants. Throughout history, bioactive nature compounds have represented an attractive alternative to eradicate or mitigate diseases from distinct etiology. For instance, they can be used to treat infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms, carcinogenic processes, cardiovascular diseases, or nervous system disorders. Conventionally, bioactive molecules can be extracted from natural sources using standard laboratory techniques, separated by chromatography, and identified with spectroscopy techniques. However, their use can be challenging due to limited access to enough raw materials, replication of methods, and equipment affordability. Therefore, this Special Issue kindly invites authors to contribute original research manuscripts, reviews, or short notes where they have demonstrated, using in vitro or in vivo models, the bioactivities of natural products.

Prof. Dr. Luis Ricardo Hernández
Dr. Eugenio Sánchez-Arreola
Dr. Edgar R. López-Mena
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. 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

  • plant extracts
  • isolated natural products
  • bioactivities
  • therapeutic applications

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 3909 KiB  
Article
New Garden Rose (Rosa × hybrida) Genotypes with Intensely Colored Flowers as Rich Sources of Bioactive Compounds
by Nataša Simin, Nemanja Živanović, Biljana Božanić Tanjga, Marija Lesjak, Tijana Narandžić and Mirjana Ljubojević
Plants 2024, 13(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13030424 - 31 Jan 2024
Viewed by 927
Abstract
Garden roses, known as Rosa × hybrida, hold a prominent position as one of the most important and economically valuable plants in horticulture. Additionally, their products—essential oil, rose water, concrete, and concentrate—find extensive use in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries, due [...] Read more.
Garden roses, known as Rosa × hybrida, hold a prominent position as one of the most important and economically valuable plants in horticulture. Additionally, their products—essential oil, rose water, concrete, and concentrate—find extensive use in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries, due to their specific fragrances and potential health benefits. Rose flowers are rich in biologically active compounds, such as phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. This study aims to investigate the potential of five new garden rose genotypes with intensely colored flowers to serve as sources of biologically active compounds. Phenolic profile was evaluated by determination of total phenolic (TPC), flavonoid (TFC), and monomeric anthocyanins (TAC) contents and LC-MS/MS analysis of selected compounds. Antioxidant activity was evaluated via DPPH and FRAP assays, neuroprotective potential via acethylcholinesterase inhibition assay, and antidiabetic activity viaα-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition assays. The flowers of investigated genotypes were rich in phenolics (TPC varied from 148 to 260 mg galic acid eq/g de, TFC from 19.9 to 59.7 mg quercetin eq/g de, and TAC from 2.21 to 13.1 mg cyanidin 3-O-glucoside eq/g de). Four out of five genotypes had higher TPC than extract of R. damascene, the most famous rose cultivar. The dominant flavonoids in all investigated genotypes were glycosides of quercetin and kaempferol. The extracts showed high antioxidant activity comparable to synthetic antioxidant BHT, very high α-glucosidase inhibitory potential, moderate neuroprotective activity, and low potential to inhibit α-amylase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactivities of Nature Products)
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13 pages, 1228 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Tigridia vanhouttei Extracts
by Jorge L. Mejía-Méndez, Ana C. Lorenzo-Leal, Horacio Bach, Edgar R. López-Mena, Diego E. Navarro-López, Luis R. Hernández, Zaida N. Juárez and Eugenio Sánchez-Arreola
Plants 2023, 12(17), 3136; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12173136 - 31 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1467
Abstract
In this work, bulb extracts of Tigridia vanhouttei were obtained by maceration with solvents of increasing polarity. The extracts were evaluated against a panel of pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was [...] Read more.
In this work, bulb extracts of Tigridia vanhouttei were obtained by maceration with solvents of increasing polarity. The extracts were evaluated against a panel of pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested against two cell lines (THP-1 and A549) using the MTT assay. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was evaluated in THP-1 cells by measuring the secretion of pro-inflammatory (IL-6 and TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines by ELISA. The chemical composition of the extracts was recorded by FTIR spectroscopy, and their chemical profiles were evaluated using GC-MS. The results revealed that only hexane extract inhibited the growth of the clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 200 μg/mL. Against THP-1 cells, hexane and chloroform extracts were moderately cytotoxic, as they exhibited LC50 values of 90.16, and 46.42 μg/mL, respectively. Treatment with methanol extract was weakly cytotoxic at LC50 443.12 μg/mL against the same cell line. Against the A549 cell line, hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts were weakly cytotoxic because of their LC50 values: 294.77, 1472.37, and 843.12 μg/mL. The FTIR analysis suggested the presence of natural products were confirmed by carboxylic acids, ketones, hydroxyl groups, or esters. The GC-MS profile of extracts revealed the presence of phytosterols, tetracyclic triterpenes, multiple fatty acids, and sugars. This report confirms the antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory activities of T. vanhouttei. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactivities of Nature Products)
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15 pages, 1714 KiB  
Article
Biological Activities and Chemical Profiles of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi Extracts
by Jorge L. Mejía-Méndez, Horacio Bach, Ana C. Lorenzo-Leal, Diego E. Navarro-López, Edgar R. López-Mena, Luis Ricardo Hernández and Eugenio Sánchez-Arreola
Plants 2023, 12(10), 1943; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12101943 - 10 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2801
Abstract
In this study, the leaves of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi were consecutively macerated with hexane, chloroform, and methanol. These extracts were used to assess the bioactivities of the plant. The antimicrobial activity was tested against a panel of Gram-positive and -negative pathogenic bacterial and fungal [...] Read more.
In this study, the leaves of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi were consecutively macerated with hexane, chloroform, and methanol. These extracts were used to assess the bioactivities of the plant. The antimicrobial activity was tested against a panel of Gram-positive and -negative pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains using the microdilution method. The cytotoxicity of K. fedtschenkoi extracts was investigated using human-derived macrophage THP-1 cells through the MTT assay. Finally, the anti-inflammatory activity of extracts was studied using the same cell line by measuring the secretion of IL-10 and IL-6. The phytoconstituents of hexane and chloroform extracts were evaluated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to study the phytochemical content of methanol extract. The total flavonoid content (TFC) of methanol extract is also reported. The chemical composition of K. fedtschenkoi extracts was evaluated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results revealed that the chloroform extract inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 150 μg/mL. At the same concentration, methanol extract inhibited the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Regarding their cytotoxicity, the three extracts were highly cytotoxic against the tested cell line at IC50 < 3 μg/mL. In addition, the chloroform extract significantly stimulated the secretion of IL-10 at 50 μg/mL (p < 0.01). GC/MS analyses revealed that hexane and chloroform extracts contain fatty acids, sterols, vitamin E, and triterpenes. The HPLC analysis demonstrated that methanol extract was constituted by quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. This is the first report in which the bioactivities and chemical profiles of K. fedtschenkoi are assessed for non-polar and polar extracts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactivities of Nature Products)
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Review

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33 pages, 1960 KiB  
Review
Unleashed Treasures of Solanaceae: Mechanistic Insights into Phytochemicals with Therapeutic Potential for Combatting Human Diseases
by Saima Jan, Sana Iram, Ommer Bashir, Sheezma Nazir Shah, Mohammad Azhar Kamal, Safikur Rahman, Jihoe Kim and Arif Tasleem Jan
Plants 2024, 13(5), 724; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050724 - 4 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1102
Abstract
Plants that possess a diverse range of bioactive compounds are essential for maintaining human health and survival. The diversity of bioactive compounds with distinct therapeutic potential contributes to their role in health systems, in addition to their function as a source of nutrients. [...] Read more.
Plants that possess a diverse range of bioactive compounds are essential for maintaining human health and survival. The diversity of bioactive compounds with distinct therapeutic potential contributes to their role in health systems, in addition to their function as a source of nutrients. Studies on the genetic makeup and composition of bioactive compounds have revealed them to be rich in steroidal alkaloids, saponins, terpenes, flavonoids, and phenolics. The Solanaceae family, having a rich abundance of bioactive compounds with varying degrees of pharmacological activities, holds significant promise in the management of different diseases. Investigation into Solanum species has revealed them to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, nephroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ulcerogenic effects. Phytochemical analysis of isolated compounds such as diosgenin, solamargine, solanine, apigenin, and lupeol has shown them to be cytotoxic in different cancer cell lines, including liver cancer (HepG2, Hep3B, SMMC-772), lung cancer (A549, H441, H520), human breast cancer (HBL-100), and prostate cancer (PC3). Since analysis of their phytochemical constituents has shown them to have a notable effect on several signaling pathways, a great deal of attention has been paid to identifying the biological targets and cellular mechanisms involved therein. Considering the promising aspects of bioactive constituents of different Solanum members, the main emphasis was on finding and reporting notable cultivars, their phytochemical contents, and their pharmacological properties. This review offers mechanistic insights into the bioactive ingredients intended to treat different ailments with the least harmful effects for potential applications in the advancement of medical research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactivities of Nature Products)
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31 pages, 2175 KiB  
Review
Latin American Plants against Microorganisms
by Sofía Isabel Cuevas-Cianca, Cristian Romero-Castillo, José Luis Gálvez-Romero, Eugenio Sánchez-Arreola, Zaida Nelly Juárez and Luis Ricardo Hernández
Plants 2023, 12(23), 3997; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12233997 - 28 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1232
Abstract
The constant emergence of severe health threats, such as antibacterial resistance or highly transmissible viruses, necessitates the investigation of novel therapeutic approaches for discovering and developing new antimicrobials, which will be critical in combating resistance and ensuring available options. Due to the richness [...] Read more.
The constant emergence of severe health threats, such as antibacterial resistance or highly transmissible viruses, necessitates the investigation of novel therapeutic approaches for discovering and developing new antimicrobials, which will be critical in combating resistance and ensuring available options. Due to the richness and structural variety of natural compounds, techniques centered on obtaining novel active principles from natural sources have yielded promising results. This review describes natural products and extracts from Latin America with antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant strains, as well as classes and subclasses of plant secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity and the structures of promising compounds for combating drug-resistant pathogenic microbes. The main mechanisms of action of the plant antimicrobial compounds found in medicinal plants are discussed, and extracts of plants with activity against pathogenic fungi and antiviral properties and their possible mechanisms of action are also summarized. For example, the secondary metabolites obtained from Isatis indigotica that show activity against SARS-CoV are aloe-emodin, β-sitosterol, hesperetin, indigo, and sinigrin. The structures of the plant antimicrobial compounds found in medicinal plants from Latin America are discussed. Most relevant studies, reviewed in the present work, have focused on evaluating different types of extracts with several classes and subclasses of secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity. More studies on structure–activity relationships are needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactivities of Nature Products)
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