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Separations
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Extraction, Isolation, and Purification of Natural Bioactive Compounds
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Extraction, Isolation, and Purification of Natural Bioactive Compounds

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Analysis of Natural Products and Pharmaceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 4740

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Qun Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, School of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Interests: fungal chemical composition: isolation, identification, and activity assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The isolation of natural products from marine- and terrestrial-derived fungal species has allowed for a widely studied diverse class of secondary metabolites. Many secondary metabolites show a variety of biological activity. In recent decades, there has been a growing use of advanced methods for extracting, separating, and isolating bioactive natural metabolites. This has emphasized their ability to produce novel compounds that can be directly applied to therapeutic applications, or indirectly used as synthetic or semi-synthetic starting materials for new organic compounds with enhanced properties. Nowadays, various approaches have been developed to discover promising novel bioactive components, such as docking and high-throughput screening. Among others, nano-formulations can improve delivery and pharmacokinetic parameters.

In light of this, the present Special Issue aims to provide an overview of current research on new or known bioactive compounds isolated from plants. We invite researchers with an interest in natural products to submit original or review articles focused on new methods for the isolation, purification, and identification of secondary metabolites. This Special Issue will also include biological evaluation using in vitro, in vivo, and computational studies. In addition, articles on the recent developments of nano-formulations associated with fungi-based molecules as a superior delivery and activity enhancer are also encouraged.

Dr. Qun Zhou
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. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • isolation
  • identification
  • activity assessment
  • fungi
  • chemical composition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4757 KiB  
Article
Characterization, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Demethoxycurcumin and Bisdemethoxycurcumin from Curcuma longa Cultivated in Costa Rica
by Andrea Mariela Araya-Sibaja, Felipe Vargas-Huertas, Silvia Quesada, Gabriela Azofeifa, José Roberto Vega-Baudrit and Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos
Separations 2024, 11(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11010023 - 8 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2656
Abstract
The biological activities of curcuminoids, the main polyphenol constituents of Curcuma longa (turmeric), have been the subject of many studies in recent years. However, these studies have focused on the major active compound, curcumin (CUR), while other important constituents, demethoxycurcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxycurcumin [...] Read more.
The biological activities of curcuminoids, the main polyphenol constituents of Curcuma longa (turmeric), have been the subject of many studies in recent years. However, these studies have focused on the major active compound, curcumin (CUR), while other important constituents, demethoxycurcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDM) have been less studied and reported in the literature regarding their bioactivity as well as their isolation and solid-state characterization. Hence, in this study, DMC and BDM were isolated using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by column chromatography and crystallization. HRMS and 1H and 13C NMR were used to characterize them. Solid-state characterization was performed through powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Further, powder dissolution profiles were performed in two media, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities were determined through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazyl (DPPH) and an MTT assay on gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS), colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW-620), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. DMC and BDM were extracted from Curcuma longa cultivated in Costa Rica, using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), then isolated and purified, combining column chromatography and crystallization techniques. The highly pure solids obtained were shown to be crystalline with an amorphous component. Although the PXRD pattern of BDM suggested a high amorphous component, the crystal exhibited a well-defined and faceted shape. Meanwhile, DMC crystallized in a botryoidal habit, and this constitutes the first report for this compound. On the other hand, BDM was slightly more soluble than DMC, which in turn showed an antioxidant IC50 value 28% higher than BDM (12.46 and 17.94 µg/mL, respectively). In respect to the cytotoxic effects, DMC showed a better IC50 value than BDM for both the SW-620 and AGS cell lines, while BDM exhibited a better IC50 value than DMC against the HepG2 cell line (64.7 μM). In terms of selectivity, BDM and DMC had the highest SI value for SW-620 cells compared to non-tumoral cells, while both compounds also displayed the best cytotoxic effect against these colon adenocarcinoma SW-620 cells, indicating BDM and DMC as potential chemotherapeutic drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Extraction, Isolation, and Purification of Natural Bioactive Compounds)
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13 pages, 2183 KiB  
Article
Sequential Separation of Essential Oil Components during Hydrodistillation of Azorean Cryptomeria japonica Foliage: Effects on Yield, Physical Properties, and Chemical Composition
by Filipe Arruda, Ana Lima, Tanner Wortham, Alexandre Janeiro, Tânia Rodrigues, José Baptista, José S. Rosa and Elisabete Lima
Separations 2023, 10(9), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10090483 - 2 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
The hydrodistillation (HD) process is used to obtain and fractionate essential oils (EOs). In this study, we aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the effects of six different HD timeframes (HDTs: 0–2, 2–10, 10–30, 30–60, 60–120, and 120–240 min) on the yield, [...] Read more.
The hydrodistillation (HD) process is used to obtain and fractionate essential oils (EOs). In this study, we aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the effects of six different HD timeframes (HDTs: 0–2, 2–10, 10–30, 30–60, 60–120, and 120–240 min) on the yield, physical properties, and chemical profile of Azorean Cryptomeria japonica foliage (Az–CJF) EO. An Az–CJF EO obtained by a typical HD over 4 h was used as a control sample, yielding 0.82%, w/fresh weight (f.w.), and containing eighty-nine components, as determined by GC–MS. The EO fraction yield revealed a narrow range (0.06–0.18%, w/f.w.), with ca. 50% obtained within the first hour. Monoterpene hydrocarbons dominated in Fr1 and Fr2 (92 and 45%, respectively, mainly α-pinene) while oxygen-containing sesquiterpenes prevailed in Frs. 3–6 (42–62%, mainly elemol and eudesmol isomers). Furthermore, Fr2 and Fr3 were the richest in oxygen-containing monoterpenes (9 and 7%, respectively, mainly bornyl acetate) and in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (6 and 5%, respectively, mainly δ-cadinene), while Fr4 and Fr5 had higher amounts of diterpene hydrocarbons (ca. 22% both, mainly phyllocladene) and Fr6 exhibited the highest oxygen-containing diterpenes content (4%, mainly nezukol). In addition, regression models were established to predict EO yield, HD rate, and composition (major components) for a given HDT. As a result of this study, specific EO fractions can now be targeted in Az–CJF EO by adjusting the HDT. Hence, these findings can help reduce distillation time and, thus, operating costs associated with the HD process. It can also meet specific market demands due to the differential composition of the obtained EO fractions. In turn, this contributes to increasing the commercial potential of C. japonica EO. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Extraction, Isolation, and Purification of Natural Bioactive Compounds)
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