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Applications of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
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Applications of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 9829

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Martina Grdiša

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Seed Science and Technology, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: medicinal and aromatic plants; insecticide and repellent plants; plant genetic resources conservation; molecular methods in biodiversity analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are defined as botanical raw materials that biosynthesize numerous organic compounds (i.e., secondary metabolites such as essential oils, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, etc.), which are responsible for various beneficial effects. Since ancient times, they have been used for their therapeutic properties and have enjoyed immense ethnopharmacological significance. Apart from being used as health remedies, they have also been used for cosmetic, nutritional, and religious purposes, and as flavorings for food and drinks. Today, these plant materials continue to play an important role in human life, and there is an increasing demand for MAPs in several sectors. In the cosmetic industry, they are used in natural formulations for hair and skin, as natural preservatives, and as the source of various fragrances. In the pharmaceutical industry, MAPs are valuable resources of compounds for health care formulations and herbal nutritional supplements, and in the food industry they are used as spices and natural food additives. MAPs are also used in aromatherapy, as natural pesticides in crop protection, in veterinary medicine, as the source of natural dies, and as plant species with therapeutic value in healing gardens. This Special Issue covers all aspects of MAPs application, both traditional and modern. Several aspects of MAPs can be included, such as ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, the use of MAPs in traditional health care systems (Ayurveda, homeopathy, Chinese medicine, etc.), the chemistry of MAPs’ active ingredients and the mode of their therapeutic action, their value in nutrition and food, their application in agronomy as pest protection agents, and their use in therapeutic gardens in healthcare facilities. Original scientific papers, review articles, and short/preliminary communications are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Martina Grdiša
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

  • aromatherapy
  • ethnobotany
  • herbal remedies
  • natural cosmetics
  • natural pesticides
  • phytotherapy
  • secondary metabolites
  • therapeutic gardens
  • traditional medicine

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7275 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Antidiabetic Potential of Extracts of Urtica dioica, Apium graveolens, and Zingiber officinale in Mice, Zebrafish, and Pancreatic β-Cell
by Rosa Martha Pérez Gutiérrez, Alethia Muñiz-Ramirez, Abraham Heriberto Garcia-Campoy and José María Mota Flores
Plants 2021, 10(7), 1438; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071438 - 14 Jul 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3728
Abstract
Medicinal plants are commonly used in the treatment of diabetes, particularly as they contain flavonoids and phenolic compounds. The present study aims to investigate the activities of a polyherbal formulation made from Urtica dioica, Apium graveolens, and Zingiber officinale (UAZ) against [...] Read more.
Medicinal plants are commonly used in the treatment of diabetes, particularly as they contain flavonoids and phenolic compounds. The present study aims to investigate the activities of a polyherbal formulation made from Urtica dioica, Apium graveolens, and Zingiber officinale (UAZ) against streptozotocin–nicotinamide ((STZ-NA)-induced type 2 diabetes in CD1 mice, glucose-induced type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in zebrafish, and high glucose-induced damage in RINm5F pancreatic β-cells. In fasting mice, plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and lipid profiles were significantly increased, whereas insulin, enzymatic antioxidants, and carbohydrate metabolic enzymes were altered significantly in diabetic mice. Zebrafish had similar glucose levels, liver enzymes, and lipid profiles compared to mice. The study investigated the effects of the extract in enhancing cell viability, insulin secretion, and reducing lipid peroxidation and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in RINm5F cells damaged by high glucose. All the above biochemical parameters were enhanced in both mice and zebrafish treated; the combined extract UAZ normalized all the biochemical parameters. The medicinal plant extracts, used either separately or in combination, ameliorated the adverse effect of glucose on cell viability and functionality of beta-RINm5F cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)
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19 pages, 2600 KiB  
Article
The Doctrine of Signatures in Israel—Revision and Spatiotemporal Patterns
by Amots Dafni, Saleh Aqil Khatib and Guillermo Benítez
Plants 2021, 10(7), 1346; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071346 - 1 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2771
Abstract
The present survey includes forty-three plant species with present-day medicinal applications that can be related to the Doctrine of Signatures (DoS). The main uses are for jaundice (33.3%), kidney stones (20%), and as an aphrodisiac (8%). Ten Doctrine of Signature uses (22.2%) are [...] Read more.
The present survey includes forty-three plant species with present-day medicinal applications that can be related to the Doctrine of Signatures (DoS). The main uses are for jaundice (33.3%), kidney stones (20%), and as an aphrodisiac (8%). Ten Doctrine of Signature uses (22.2%) are endemic (to Israel and Jordan); while none of these plant species are endemic to the region at all, their DoS uses are endemic. Summing up of all these data reveals that 73.2% of all uses found in present-day Israel could be considered as related to Muslim traditional medicine. About one quarter (24.4%) of the DoS uses are also common to Europe, and some (8.8%) to India. The two adventive species with DoS uses serve as evidence that the DoS practice is not necessarily based solely on its historical background but is still evolving locally in accordance with changes in the local flora. The current broad geographic distribution of many of the doctrine’s uses may serve as indirect evidence of its current prevalence, and not just as a vestigial presentation of ancient beliefs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)
14 pages, 5451 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Differential Methylation Profiles from Two Terpene-Rich Medicinal Plant Extracts Administered in Osteoarthritis Rats
by Younhee Shin, Sathiyamoorthy Subramaniyam, Jin-Mi Chun, Ji-Hyeon Jeon, Ji-Man Hong, Hojin Jung, Boseok Seong and Chul Kim
Plants 2021, 10(6), 1132; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10061132 - 2 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2462
Abstract
Extracts from the plants Phlomis umbrosa and Dipsacus asperoides—which are widely used in Korean and Chinese traditional medicine to treat osteoarthritis and other bone diseases—were used to treat experimental osteoarthritis (OA) rats. Genome-wide differential methylation regions (DMRs) of these medicinal-plant-treated rats were [...] Read more.
Extracts from the plants Phlomis umbrosa and Dipsacus asperoides—which are widely used in Korean and Chinese traditional medicine to treat osteoarthritis and other bone diseases—were used to treat experimental osteoarthritis (OA) rats. Genome-wide differential methylation regions (DMRs) of these medicinal-plant-treated rats were profiled as therapeutic evidence associated with traditional medicine, and they need to be investigated further using detailed molecular research to extrapolate traditional practices to modern medicine. In total, 49 protein-encoding genes whose expression is differentially regulated during disease progression and recovery have been discovered via systematic bioinformatic analysis and have been approved/proposed as druggable targets for various bone diseases by the US food and drug administration. Genes encoding proteins involved in the PI3K/AKT pathway were found to be enriched, likely as this pathway plays a crucial role during OA progression as well as during the recovery process after treatment with the aforementioned plant extracts. The four sub-networks of PI3K/AKT were highly regulated by these plant extracts. Overall, 29 genes were seen in level 2 (51–75%) DMRs and were correlated highly with OA pathogenesis. Here, we propose that these genes could serve as targets to study OA; moreover, the iridoid and triterpenoid phytochemicals obtained from these two plants may serve as potential therapeutic agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)
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