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Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products
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Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 2555

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mario Juan Simirgiotis Agüero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
Interests: plant based diet; plant food; nutraceuticals; human health; antioxidant capacity; phenolic compounds; enzyme inhibition; flavonoids
Dr. Alejandro Tapia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Biotecnología-Instituto de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Av. Libertador General San Martín 1109 (O), San Juan CP 5400, Argentina
Interests: medicinal plants; fruits; propolis; isolation; HPLC-MS; biological activity; antioxidant; antimicrobial; characterization of bioactive metabolites by NMR

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The study and applications of phytoconstituents constitute an interesting topic which has been growing in significance in the last few years. However, the systematic study of components in plants and their application in natural products is still facing issues due to the high diversity of useful small metabolites in plant matrices. Phytoconstituents in plants produce the color, taste, aroma, and scent of fruits and flowers, while some plant metabolites are associated with many resistance and stress responses in plants; the characterization of metabolites can be useful for various purposes, such as food safety assessment, chemotaxonomy, crop quality improvement, and plant metabolic engineering. Bioactive plant metabolites and natural products are useful in a myriad of applications, mostly related to human health diseases. Moreover, understanding plant physiology and biology through the analysis of small molecules and physiological processes, such as cellular responses to various stimuli, is a key aspect to consider. Therefore, in this Special Issue, I invite research and review articles for the Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products.

The contribution should be clearly stated in the manuscript, mainly linked to the phytochemical characterization and medicinal properties of natural products, and related topics. The main methods used should be mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or other suitable techniques. Both untargeted and targeted analysis of bioactive metabolites are welcome. The envisaged topics include dietary and pharmacological interventions, metabolic flux analysis, genetic manipulation, in vitro/in vivo imaging, and protocol development for metabolomic experiments.

The Special Issue is now open for submissions. Certain extensions may be granted if you kindly let me know in advance. Accepted papers will be published rapidly and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. You are also warmly invited to share this invitation with your team members and colleagues; student co-authors are most welcome. 

Dr. Mario Juan Simirgiotis Agüero
Dr. Alejandro Tapia
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. 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

  • natural products
  • phytochemical characterization
  • medicinal properties
  • bioactive metabolites
  • phytochemistry

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1916 KiB  
Article
Potential Anti-Infectious Activity of Essential Oil Chemotypes of Lippia origanoides Kunth on Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains
by Andrés Humberto Uc-Cachón, Luz María Calvo-Irabien, Angel de Jesús Dzul-Beh, Haziel Eleazar Dzib-Baak, Rosa Grijalva-Arango and Gloria María Molina-Salinas
Plants 2024, 13(9), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13091172 - 23 Apr 2024
Viewed by 260
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus infections are prevalent in healthcare and community environments. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus is catalogued as a superbug of high priority among the pathogens. This Gram-positive coccus can form biofilms and produce toxins, leading to persistent infection and antibiotic resistance. Limited effective antibiotics [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus aureus infections are prevalent in healthcare and community environments. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus is catalogued as a superbug of high priority among the pathogens. This Gram-positive coccus can form biofilms and produce toxins, leading to persistent infection and antibiotic resistance. Limited effective antibiotics have encouraged the development of innovative strategies, with a particular emphasis on resistance mechanisms and/or virulence factors. Medicinal aromatic plants have emerged as promising alternative sources. This study investigated the antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antihemolysis properties of three different chemotypes of Lippia origanoides essential oil (EO) against susceptible and drug-resistant S. aureus strains. The chemical composition of the EO was analyzed using GC-MS, revealing high monoterpene concentrations, with carvacrol and thymol as the major components in two of the chemotypes. The third chemotype consisted mainly of the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene. The MIC values for the two monoterpene chemotypes ranged from 62.5 to 500 µg/mL for all strains, whereas the sesquiterpene chemotype showed activity against seven strains at concentrations of 125–500 µg/mL, which is the first report of its anti-S. aureus activity. The phenolic chemotypes inhibited biofilm formation in seven S. aureus strains, whereas the sesquiterpene chemotype only inhibited biofilm formation in four strains. In addition, phenolic chemotypes displayed antihemolysis activity, with IC50 values ranging from 58.9 ± 3.8 to 128.3 ± 9.2 µg/mL. Our study highlights the importance of L. origanoides EO from the Yucatan Peninsula, which has the potential for the development of anti-S. aureus agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products)
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14 pages, 4890 KiB  
Article
Effect of In Vitro Micropropagation on the Chemical, Antioxidant, and Biological Characteristics of Senecio nutans Sch. Bip., an Endemic Plant of the Atacama Desert Andean Region
by Claudio Parra, Patricio Muñoz-Torres, Hugo Escobar, Mario J. Simirgiotis, Gabriela Contreras-Contreras, Álvaro Ruiz-Fernández, Cristian Maulen, Maximiliano Martínez-Cifuentes and María Salomé Mariotti-Celis
Plants 2024, 13(6), 755; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060755 - 07 Mar 2024
Viewed by 654
Abstract
The species Senecio nutans Sch. Bip., commonly called “chachacoma”, is widely used as a medicinal plant by the Andean communities of Northern Chile. Ethanolic extracts of S. nutans and the main compound, 4-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) acetophenone, have shown interesting biological activity. However, due to the [...] Read more.
The species Senecio nutans Sch. Bip., commonly called “chachacoma”, is widely used as a medicinal plant by the Andean communities of Northern Chile. Ethanolic extracts of S. nutans and the main compound, 4-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) acetophenone, have shown interesting biological activity. However, due to the high-altitude areas where this species is found, access to S. nutans is very limited. Due to the latter, in this work, we carried out micropropagation in vitro and ex vitro adaptation techniques as an alternative for the massive multiplication, conservation, and in vitro production of high-value metabolites from this plant. The micropropagation and ex vitro adaptation techniques were successfully employed, and UHPLC-DAD analysis revealed no significant changes in the phenolic profile, with acetophenone 4 being the most abundant metabolite, whose antioxidant and antibacterial activity was studied. Independently of the applied culture condition, the ethanolic extracts of S. nutans presented high activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, demonstrating their antimicrobial capacity. This successful initiation of in vitro and ex vitro cultures provides a biotechnological approach for the conservation of S. nutans and ensures a reliable and consistent source of acetophenone 4 as a potential raw material for pharmacological applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products)
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21 pages, 2401 KiB  
Article
Zuccagnia punctata Cav., a Potential Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Bionematicide for the Control of Argentinean Horticultural Crops
by Sofía Manrique, Jessica Gómez, Mauricio Piñeiro, Belén Ariza Sampietro, Maria L. Peschiutta, Alejandro Tapia, Mario J. Simirgiotis and Beatriz Lima
Plants 2023, 12(24), 4104; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12244104 - 07 Dec 2023
Viewed by 900
Abstract
This research was designed to investigate the metabolite profiling, phenolics, and flavonoids content as well as the potential nematicidal properties of decoction (ZpDe), orange-yellow resin (ZpRe) and essential oil (ZpEO) from Argentinean medicinal plant Zuccagnia punctata Cav. Additionally, the antioxidant and antibacterial properties [...] Read more.
This research was designed to investigate the metabolite profiling, phenolics, and flavonoids content as well as the potential nematicidal properties of decoction (ZpDe), orange-yellow resin (ZpRe) and essential oil (ZpEO) from Argentinean medicinal plant Zuccagnia punctata Cav. Additionally, the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of ZpDe and ZpEO were determined. Metabolite profiling was obtained by an ultrahigh-resolution liquid chromatography MS analysis (UHPLC-ESI-QTOF/OT-MS-MS) and GCMS. The nematicidal activity was assayed by a standardized method against Meloidogyne incognita. The antioxidant properties were screened by four methods: (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity assay (TEAC), ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP), and lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes (ILP). The antibacterial activity was evaluated according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) rules. The ZpDe, ZpRe and ZpEO displayed a strong nematicidal activity with an LC50 of 0.208, 0.017 and 0.142 mg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, the ZpDe showed a strong DPPH scavenging activity (IC50 = 28.54 µg/mL); ILP of 87.75% at 250 µg ZpDe/mL and moderated antimicrobial activity. The ZpEO showed promising activity against a panel of yeasts Candida albicans and non-albicans (ATCC and clinically isolated) with MIC values from 750 to 1500 µg/mL. The ZpDe showed a content of phenolics and flavonoid compounds of 241 mg GAE/g and 10 mg EQ/g, respectively. Fifty phenolic compounds were identified in ZpDe by ultrahigh-resolution liquid chromatography (UHPLC–PDA– Q-TOF-MS) analysis, while forty-six phenolic compounds were identified in ZpRe by UHPLC-ESI-Q-OT-MS-MS and twenty-nine in ZpEO using a GC-MS analysis, updating the knowledge on the chemical profile of this species. The results support and standardize this medicinal plant mainly as a potential environmentally friendly and sustainable bionematicide for the control of Argentinean horticultural crops including tomatoes and peppers and as a source of antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds which could be further explored and exploited for potential applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Characterization and Medicinal Value of Natural Products)
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