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Pharmaceuticals
Special Issues
The Role of Phytochemicals in Aging and Aging-Related Diseases
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The Role of Phytochemicals in Aging and Aging-Related Diseases

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2025 | Viewed by 2918

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Scapagnini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences "V. Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
Interests: phytochemicals; dietary supplementation; nutrition; natural compounds; antioxidants; aging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sergio Davinelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences "V. Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
Interests: nutrition and dietetics; health promotion; aging; functional foods; food phytochemicals; dietary polyphenols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alessandro Medoro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences "V. Tiberio", University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
Interests: phytochemicals; plant-based diet; dietary supplementation; pharma-nutrition; aging; nutrition; aging-related diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aging is an inevitable process influenced by genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Recent non-pharmacological approaches for the improvement and, possibly, for the reverse/delay of the aging process shed new light on this topic. Among the variegated class of anti-aging molecules, phytochemicals and their metabolites have been suggested to improve aging and aging-related diseases. They comprise a large family of plant-derived metabolites with highly diverse chemical structures that are not directly involved in the growth and development of plants but are synthesized to increase their survival fitness. A growing body of evidence suggests that phytochemicals can not only act as simple antioxidant agents that neutralize free radicals, but that they can also modulate one or more cellular pathways associated with lifespan, aging, and disease prevention. Indeed, these bioactive molecules exert anti-aging effects via different mechanisms, such as the inhibition of cell senescence and mitochondrial dysfunction and the reduction of telomere shortening, epigenetic alterations, and genomic instability. Finally, their excellent safety profile and large structural diversity make phytochemicals particularly attractive for drug discovery processes.

This Special Issue will collect publications on topics including (but not limited to):

  • Biological effects of phytochemicals associated with aging-related pathways and diseases;
  • Molecular pharmacology techniques to identify potential anti-aging phytochemicals;
  • Bioavailability of dietary phytochemicals (e.g., gut microbiota, additive/synergistic effects) in the context of aging;
  • Dietary phytochemicals and the design of new drugs/derivatives to target aging-related mechanisms;
  • Dietary phytochemicals and human intervention trials against aging-related disease.

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Scapagnini
Dr. Sergio Davinelli
Dr. Alessandro Medoro
Guest Editors

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. Pharmaceuticals 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 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

  • phytochemicals
  • plant-based diet
  • dietary supplementation
  • pharma-nutrition
  • aging
  • aging-related diseases
  • prevention

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

16 pages, 802 KiB  
Review
Alkaloids as Natural NRF2 Inhibitors: Chemoprevention and Cytotoxic Action in Cancer
by Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova, Viktorija Maksimova, Katarina Smilkov, Brigitta Buttari, Marzia Arese and Luciano Saso
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(6), 850; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16060850 - 07 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2142
Abstract
Being a controller of cytoprotective actions, inflammation, and mitochondrial function through participating in the regulation of multiple genes in response to stress-inducing endogenous or exogenous stressors, the transcription factor Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 (NRF2) is considered the main cellular defense mechanism [...] Read more.
Being a controller of cytoprotective actions, inflammation, and mitochondrial function through participating in the regulation of multiple genes in response to stress-inducing endogenous or exogenous stressors, the transcription factor Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 (NRF2) is considered the main cellular defense mechanism to maintain redox balance at cellular and tissue level. While a transient activation of NRF2 protects normal cells under oxidative stress, the hyperactivation of NRF2 in cancer cells may help them to survive and to adapt under oxidative stress. This can be detrimental and related to cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance. Therefore, inhibition of NRF2 activity may be an effective approach for sensitizing cancer cells to anticancer therapy. In this review, we examine alkaloids as NRF2 inhibitors from natural origin, their effects on cancer therapy, and/or as sensitizers of cancer cells to anticancer chemotherapeutics, and their potential clinical applications. Alkaloids, as inhibitor of the NRF2/KEAP1 signaling pathway, can have direct (berberine, evodiamine, and diterpenic aconitine types of alkaloids) or indirect (trigonelline) therapeutic/preventive effects. The network linking alkaloid action with oxidative stress and NRF2 modulation may result in an increased NRF2 synthesis, nuclear translocation, as well in a downstream impact on the synthesis of endogenous antioxidants, effects strongly presumed to be the mechanism of action of alkaloids in inducing cancer cell death or promoting sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. In this regard, the identification of additional alkaloids targeting the NRF2 pathway is desirable and the information arising from clinical trials will reveal the potential of these compounds as a promising target for anticancer therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Phytochemicals in Aging and Aging-Related Diseases)
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