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Phytochemical and Antioxidant Analysis of Medicinal and Food Plants Towards Bioactive Food and Pharmaceutical Resources

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 4835

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: by-products; bioactive compounds; circular economy; industrial symbiosis; HLPC-MS; spectroscopic analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences (CITAB), Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-Food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: bioactivity; chemical characterization of natural products; identification, quantification, separation, and recovery of bioactive compounds from different food and agro-food byproducts; experimental design applied to extraction and process optimization of natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the scientific community, it has been well established that some medicinal and food plants have an important role in the prevention of some degenerative or cardiovascular diseases, resulting from their content in bioactive phytochemicals with several biological properties. In light of the biological properties revealed, the search for natural bioactive compounds has drawn attention to these materials, namely phenolic compounds that may have an added value to be used as an alternative to synthetic substances employed in distinct industries, such as the food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical sectors.

Due to contemporary lifestyle issues, research on secondary metabolites with health-promoting effects in countering or slowing down chronic and degenerative diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases) have recognized that phenols and polyphenols are beneficial for human health and are widespread and copious in dietary plant sources.

Taking all this into account, and considering the growing interest in the major therapeutic role that bioactive compounds from medicinal and food plants can play in disease prevention in humans, the main goal is the valorization of these plants as a source of bioactive compounds with the capacity to influence health-related conditions.

Contributions to this Special Issue may cover all research aspects related to medicinal and food plants, including those parts from plants discarded during the agricultural and industrial processing; characterization of their biological properties, including (but not limited to) methods for their extraction, purification, comprehensive profiling characterization, and quantification, as well as new technologies explored for more efficient extraction; beneficial biological properties that could potentially contribute to functional food and nutraceutical development; functional properties such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antitumor, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant properties, among others; in vitro and in vivo model systems; clinical investigations; and biotechnological applications of plants, such as nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. Original research papers and review articles on these different areas are welcome.

Dr. Ana Barros
Dr. Irene Gouvinhas
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Medicinal and food plants
  • Phytochemicals
  • Bioactive compounds
  • Biological properties
  • Natural products

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 4261 KiB  
Article
The (Poly)phenolic Profile of Separate Winery By-Products Reveals Potential Antioxidant Synergies
by Antonio Costa-Pérez, Sonia Medina, Paola Sánchez-Bravo, Raúl Domínguez-Perles and Cristina García-Viguera
Molecules 2023, 28(5), 2081; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28052081 - 22 Feb 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1831
Abstract
The by-products of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) in the winemaking process present a diverse phytochemical profile of (poly)phenols, essentially represented by phenolic acids, flavonoids, and stilbenes, which have health benefits. In winemaking, solid (grape stems and pomace) and semisolid (wine lees) by-products [...] Read more.
The by-products of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) in the winemaking process present a diverse phytochemical profile of (poly)phenols, essentially represented by phenolic acids, flavonoids, and stilbenes, which have health benefits. In winemaking, solid (grape stems and pomace) and semisolid (wine lees) by-products are generated, negatively impacting the sustainability of the agro-food activity and the local environment. Although information on the phytochemical profile of grape stems and pomace has been reported, especially information concerning (poly)phenols, research on wine lees is necessary to take advantage of the compositional traits of this residue. So, in the present work, an updated, in-depth comparison of the (poly)phenolic profiles of these three resulting matrices in the agro-food industry has been carried out to provide new knowledge and interesting data on the action of yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) metabolism in the diversification of phenolic composition; additionally, we extract complementarities for the possible joint application of the three residues. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts was carried out using HPLC-PDA-ESI-MSn. The (poly)phenolic profiles of the residues showed significant discrepancies. The results obtained showed that the greatest diversity of (poly)phenols was found in the stems of the grapes, followed closely by the lees. Through technological insights, it has been suggested that yeasts and LAB, responsible for the fermentation of must, might play a key role in the transformation of phenolic compounds. This would provide new molecules with specific bioavailability and bioactivity features, which might interact with different molecular targets and, consequently, improve the biological potential of these underexploited residues. Full article
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21 pages, 3418 KiB  
Article
Appraisal of the Antioxidant Activity, Polyphenolic Content, and Characterization of Selected Himalayan Herbs: Anti-Proliferative Potential in HepG2 Cells
by Sumaira Yousuf, Shabnam Shabir, Simran Kauts, Tarun Minocha, Ahmad A. Obaid, Anmar A. Khan, Abdulrahman Mujalli, Yahya F. Jamous, Sarah Almaghrabi, Bandar K. Baothman, Ahmed Hjazi, Sandeep K. Singh, Emanuel Vamanu and Mahendra P. Singh
Molecules 2022, 27(23), 8629; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238629 - 06 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2244
Abstract
Natural antioxidants derived from plants have played a vital role in preventing a wide range of human chronic conditions and provide novel bioactive leads for investigators in pharmacotherapy discovery. This work was designed to examine the ethnopharmacological role of Urtica dioica (UD), [...] Read more.
Natural antioxidants derived from plants have played a vital role in preventing a wide range of human chronic conditions and provide novel bioactive leads for investigators in pharmacotherapy discovery. This work was designed to examine the ethnopharmacological role of Urtica dioica (UD), Capsella bursa-pastoris (CBP), and Inula racemosa (IR). The total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC) were illustrated through colorimetric assays, while the antioxidant activity was investigated through DPPH and ABTS assays. The evaluation of phytochemicals by FT-IR of UD and CBP revealed high contents of aliphatic amines, while IR showed a major peak for ketones. The antioxidant activity, TPC and TFC were highest in the ethanol extract of UD, followed by CBP, and IR showed the lowest activity. All of the extracts revealed significant antioxidant capacities along a dosage gradient. Through a HPLC analysis at a wavelength of 280 nm, UD leaves demonstrated an intense peak of quercetin, and the peak for rutin was less intense. CBP (whole plant), instead, demonstrated a major yield of rutin, and a peak for quercetin was not observed in CBP. IR (rhizomes) showed both quercetin and rutin. All of the extracts were significantly cytotoxic to HepG2 cells after 48 h with the trend IR > UD > CBP. The outcomes of this study may be effective in the selection of specific plants as realistic sources of the bioactive components that might be useful in the nutraceutical progression and other biomedical efficacies. Full article
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