Alkaloids: Extraction, Analysis and Function Research

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 June 2024 | Viewed by 1767

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Guest Editor
Group of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, 27-31, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: alkaloids; biological activities; GC-MS
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Guest Editor
Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi Ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: Amaryllidaceae; alkaloids; GC-MS; LC-MS; biological activities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products are an important source of bioactive agents in the search for new medicines. Among them, alkaloids are secondary metabolites mainly found in plants that exhibit considerable structural diversity and a broad spectrum of therapeutic properties. Over the last few centuries, many alkaloids have gained medicinal importance. In this Special Issue, we encourage the submission of manuscripts that present new data on the extraction and identification of alkaloids, as well as their biological potential. We warmly invite submissions involving current and sustainable methodologies.

Dr. Luciana R. Tallini
Prof. Dr. Laura Torras-Claveria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Life 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

  • alkaloids
  • biological activity
  • chemical profiling
  • structural elucidation
  • computational experiments

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3274 KiB  
Article
The Anti-Cholinesterase Potential of Fifteen Different Species of Narcissus L. (Amaryllidaceae) Collected in Spain
by Luciana R. Tallini, Giulia Manfredini, María Lenny Rodríguez-Escobar, Segundo Ríos, Vanessa Martínez-Francés, Gabriela E. Feresin, Warley de Souza Borges, Jaume Bastida, Francesc Viladomat and Laura Torras-Claveria
Life 2024, 14(4), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14040536 - 22 Apr 2024
Viewed by 279
Abstract
Narcissus L. is a renowned plant genus with a notable center of diversity and is primarily located in the Mediterranean region. These plants are widely recognized for their ornamental value, owing to the beauty of their flowers; nonetheless, they also hold pharmacological importance. [...] Read more.
Narcissus L. is a renowned plant genus with a notable center of diversity and is primarily located in the Mediterranean region. These plants are widely recognized for their ornamental value, owing to the beauty of their flowers; nonetheless, they also hold pharmacological importance. In Europe, pharmaceutical companies usually use the bulbs of Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. Carlton to extract galanthamine, which is one of the few medications approved by the FDA for the palliative treatment of mild-to-moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of these plants in Alzheimer’s disease. The alkaloid extract from the leaves of different species of Narcissus was obtained by an acid-base extraction work-up -procedure. The biological potential of the samples was carried out by evaluating their ability to inhibit the enzymes acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase (AChE and BuChE, respectively). The species N. jacetanus exhibited the best inhibition values against AChE, with IC50 values of 0.75 ± 0.03 µg·mL−1, while N. jonquilla was the most active against BuChE, with IC50 values of 11.72 ± 1.15 µg·mL−1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkaloids: Extraction, Analysis and Function Research)
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14 pages, 2429 KiB  
Article
Plant Production Protocols from Seeds of Threatened Atropa baetica and Widespread A. belladonna, Both Rich in Alkaloids
by Elena Copete, Miguel A. Copete, Esmeralda Martínez-Duro, Alejandro Santiago, Pablo Ferrandis and José M. Herranz
Life 2023, 13(11), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13112181 - 08 Nov 2023
Viewed by 834
Abstract
Members of the genus Atropa contain various tropane alkaloids, including atropine ((±)-hyoscyamine) and scopolamine, which possess medicinal properties. Preserving the diverse genetic background of wild populations via optimal plant production from seeds could be essential for avoiding the loss of potential uses. We [...] Read more.
Members of the genus Atropa contain various tropane alkaloids, including atropine ((±)-hyoscyamine) and scopolamine, which possess medicinal properties. Preserving the diverse genetic background of wild populations via optimal plant production from seeds could be essential for avoiding the loss of potential uses. We analyzed the germination ecology of two Atropa species comprising the threatened A. baetica and widespread A. belladonna to determine the: (1) influence of temperature, light, and seed age on germination patterns; (2) effects of cold stratification and gibberellic acid (GA3); (3) phenology of seedling emergence in outdoor conditions; (4) phenology of dormancy break and loss of viability in buried seeds; and (5) ability to form persistent soil seed banks. Freshly matured seeds exhibited conditional physiological dormancy, with germination at high temperatures (32/18 °C) but not at low and cold ones (5, 15/4, 20/7 °C). The germination ability increased with time of dry storage and with GA3, thereby suggesting nondeep physiological dormancy. Under outdoor conditions, no seedlings emerged during the first post-sown autumn, but emergence peaks occurred in late winter–early spring. Both species could form small persistent soil seed banks with short durations (3–5 years). A plant production protocol from seeds was established for both taxa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkaloids: Extraction, Analysis and Function Research)
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