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Nutritional and Health Value of Natural Products From Medicinal Plants...
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Nutritional and Health Value of Natural Products From Medicinal Plants on Human Diseases

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemicals and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2025) | Viewed by 1671

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yi Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: gut microbiota; application and research and development of traditional Chinese medicine in the disease prevention and control of human and animals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products (NPs) isolated from medicinal plants, such as polysaccharides, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, and others, are widely used to treat human diseases or maintain health. NPs are regarded as therapeutic agents, functional additives, or health products, as they may serve as drug candidates, lead compounds for drug design, or foods. Plant-derived therapeutics have several advantages, such as wide availability, diverse pharmacological actions, and a generally good profile of safety and tolerability. Numerous studies have reported the efficacy of NPs from medicinal plants in ameliorating several human diseases, such as cancers, inflammation, fibrosis, cardiovascular, and infections. Moreover, many in vitro and in vivo studies have exposed the multiple molecular mechanisms of NPs’ pharmacological benefits. The submission of studies on the treatment effects and mechanisms of extracts from medicinal plants on humans will be welcome.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles, short communications, and reviews containing new perspectives and discoveries of the functional and pharmacological effects of natural products, including the molecular mechanisms and therapeutic effects of natural products in human epidemiological studies and new insights towards the role of natural products in maintaining and promoting human health, with the ultimate aim of improving health outcomes for patients worldwide. For this upcoming Nutrients Special Issue, we also recommend that submissions include placebo-controlled clinical studies of medicinal plant extracts, biochemical characterization, and potency assessments using scientifically analytical methods.

Dr. Yi Wu
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. Nutrients 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 2900 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 and extracts
  • medicinal and food plants
  • biological activities
  • human health
  • molecular mechanisms

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1765 KB  
Article
Protective Effects of Coixol Against Nε-Carboxymethyllysine-Induced Injury in IMR-32 Neuronal Cells: Modulation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Amyloidogenic Pathways
by Mei-Chou Lai, Wayne Young Liu, Yu-Cheng Tzeng and I-Min Liu
Nutrients 2025, 17(18), 2939; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17182939 - 12 Sep 2025
Viewed by 285
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The accumulation of Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML), a major advanced glycation end product (AGE), has been implicated in neuronal dysfunction by promoting oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and dysregulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) metabolism. This study evaluated the neuroprotective properties of coixol, a naturally [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The accumulation of Nε-carboxymethyllysine (CML), a major advanced glycation end product (AGE), has been implicated in neuronal dysfunction by promoting oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and dysregulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) metabolism. This study evaluated the neuroprotective properties of coixol, a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound derived from the outer layers of Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen, in a CML-induced injury model using IMR-32 human neuronal-like cells. Methods: Cells were pretreated with coixol (1 μmol/L), N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC, 1 mmol/L), or 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA, 200 μmol/L) for 1 h prior to CML (100 μmol/L) exposure for 24 h. Cell viability was determined by colorimetric analysis of 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, while intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was quantified using a fluorescence-based oxidative stress probe. Activities of key antioxidant enzymes and caspase-3 were determined using commercial assay kits. The expression of Aβ isoforms, amyloidogenic enzymes, ER stress markers, and apoptosis-related signaling proteins was quantified through validated immunoassays. Results: Coixol pretreatment significantly enhanced cell viability by attenuating ROS accumulation and restoring antioxidant enzyme activities. Concurrently, coixol suppressed ER stress signaling via downregulation of the protein kinase R-like ER kinase/C/EBP homologous protein axis and modulated apoptosis by increasing B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, reducing Bcl-2-associated X protein expression, and inhibiting caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation. Furthermore, coixol regulated Aβ metabolism by inhibiting the expression of β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 and presenilin 1, while restoring insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin levels, leading to reduced accumulation of Aβ40 and Aβ42. Conclusions: Compared to NALC and 4-PBA, coixol demonstrated comparable or superior modulation across multiple pathological pathways. These findings highlight coixol’s potential as a neuroprotective candidate in AGE-associated neurodegenerative conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional and Health Value of Natural Products From Medicinal Plants on Human Diseases)
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14 pages, 1303 KB  
Article
Non-Targeted Metabolomic Analysis of Ethanol Extract of Propolis and Its Anti-Inflammatory Effects in LPS-Induced BV2 Microglial Cells via the TLR4 Signaling Pathway
by Xiaolan Xu, Chunxia Li, Yuxuan Zhu, Shuangshuang Zhao, Fangjing Wu, Qian He, Lizhen Wei, Xinle Duan and Jianghong Li
Nutrients 2025, 17(17), 2831; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17172831 - 30 Aug 2025
Viewed by 858
Abstract
Propolis contains abundant flavonoid and phenolic compounds, whose composition and concentration vary significantly in different geographical origins, thereby affecting its bioactive properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. In this study, the flavonoid and phenolic content in the ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) [...] Read more.
Propolis contains abundant flavonoid and phenolic compounds, whose composition and concentration vary significantly in different geographical origins, thereby affecting its bioactive properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. In this study, the flavonoid and phenolic content in the ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) from Henan (HN) and Shandong (SD) provinces was quantitatively analyzed, and the results showed that concentrations of both bioactive components in HN were slightly higher than those in SD. The non-targeted metabolomics technology was further employed to analyze the components of EEP, and a total of 10683 metabolites were detected. In the comparison between the samples of HN and SD, there were a total of 1436 differential metabolites, with 553 decreased and 883 increased in the HN sample. Among them, there were 205 differential metabolites related to flavonoids and phenols, with 108 decreased and 97 increased in the HN sample. However, a greater number of carboxylic acids and derivatives, fatty derivatives and organooxygen metabolites were found at higher relative levels in the HN sample. As a result, the EEP of the HN sample was selected to investigate its inhibitory effect on inflammation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV2 microglia cells. The results showed that LPS promoted the M1 polarization of BV2 microglia. However, treatment with EEP at concentrations of 10 µg/mL, 5 µg/mL, and 2.5 µg/mL could partially restore the cell morphology to its non-activated state. Meanwhile, LPS stimulation increased the protein levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α significantly, as well as the relative gene expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, COX-2, iNOS and TLR4. After treatment with the EEP, the expression levels of these three proteins and six genes were significantly decreased. These findings revealed that EEP effectively inhibited the M1 polarization of LPS-induced BV2 cells and decreased the expression of inflammatory factors, indicating its potential as a therapeutic agent for neuroinflammation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional and Health Value of Natural Products From Medicinal Plants on Human Diseases)
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