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Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification
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Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 3212

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ramona Paltinean

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hațieganu”, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: morphology; histology and anatomy of plant species; polyphenols and isoquinoline alkaloids; pharmacological activities of medicinal plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Irina Ielciu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Med-icine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hațieganu”, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: polyphenols; flavonoids; terpenes; antioxidant; antimicrobial; antidiabetic; antiplasmodial; Cucurbitaceae; Lamiaceae
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative approaches relating to natural metabolites, with a special focus on their identification methods, correlated with their biological activities. The last couple of years have presented an important challenge that researchers worldwide faced in their attempt to advance novel discoveries in the area of natural metabolite identification. The growing interest in research in the field of plant metabolites is strongly sustained by the continuously increasing demand in the phytopharmaceutical market. At the same time, metabolomics has proven to be an indispensable tool, at the crossroads of cellular biochemistry with phytochemistry and pharmacology. In this context, the present Special Issue aims to provide the opportunity for exchanging ideas, subjects and, most importantly, discoveries in the field of plant science. We strongly hope that this collection will represent an excellent chance for researchers worldwide to offer novel approaches to the identification of plant metabolites via different methods, along with their corresponding biological activities.   

Dr. Ramona Paltinean
Dr. Irina Ielciu
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. Metabolites 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 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 compounds
  • plant metabolites
  • extraction methods
  • separation techniques
  • biological activities

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3097 KiB  
Article
Role of Carrot (Daucus carota L.) Storage Roots in Drought Stress Adaptation: Hormonal Regulation and Metabolite Accumulation
by Kyoung Rok Geem, Ye-Jin Lee, Jeongmin Lee, Dain Hong, Ga-Eun Kim and Jwakyung Sung
Metabolites 2025, 15(1), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15010056 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 538
Abstract
Background: Drought stress has become one of the biggest concerns in threating the growth and yield of carrots (Daucus carota L.). Recent studies have shed light on the physiological and molecular metabolisms in response to drought in the carrot plant; however, tissue-specific [...] Read more.
Background: Drought stress has become one of the biggest concerns in threating the growth and yield of carrots (Daucus carota L.). Recent studies have shed light on the physiological and molecular metabolisms in response to drought in the carrot plant; however, tissue-specific responses and regulations are still not fully understood. Methods: To answer this curiosity, this study investigated the interplay among carrot tissues, such as leaves (L); storage roots (SRs); and lateral roots (LRs) under drought conditions. This study revealed that the SRs played a crucial role in an early perception by upregulating key genes, including DcNCED3 (ABA biosynthesis) and DcYUCCA6 (auxin biosynthesis). The abundance of osmolytes (proline; GABA) and carbohydrates (sucrose; glucose; fructose; mannitol; and inositol) was also significantly increased in each tissue. In particular, LRs accumulated high levels of these metabolites and promoted growth under drought conditions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the SR acts as a central regulator in the drought response of carrots by synthesizing ABA and auxin, which modulate the accumulation of metabolites and growth of LRs. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of tissue-specific carrot responses to drought tolerance, emphasizing that the SR plays a key role in improving drought resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification)
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16 pages, 2393 KiB  
Article
Chemical Diversity of Mediterranean Seagrasses Volatilome
by Salomé Coquin, Elena Ormeno, Vanina Pasqualini, Briac Monnier, Gérald Culioli, Caroline Lecareux, Catherine Fernandez and Amélie Saunier
Metabolites 2024, 14(12), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14120705 - 14 Dec 2024
Viewed by 621
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), extensively studied in terrestrial plants with global emissions around 1 PgC yr−1, are also produced by marine organisms. However, benthic species, especially seagrasses, are understudied despite their global distribution (177,000–600,000 km2). This study [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), extensively studied in terrestrial plants with global emissions around 1 PgC yr−1, are also produced by marine organisms. However, benthic species, especially seagrasses, are understudied despite their global distribution (177,000–600,000 km2). This study aims to examine BVOC emissions from key Mediterranean seagrass species (Cymodocea nodosa, Posidonia oceanica, Zostera noltei, and Zostera marina) in marine and coastal lagoon environments. Methods: BVOCs were collected using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fibers and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: An important chemical diversity was found with a total of 92 volatile compounds (61 for Z. noltei, 59 for C. nodosa, 55 for P. oceanica, and 51 for Z. marina), from different biosynthetic pathways (e.g., terpenoids, benzenoids, and fatty acid derivatives) and with several types of chemical functions (e.g., alkanes, esters, aldehydes, and ketones) or heteroatoms (e.g., sulfur). No differences in chemical richness or diversity of compounds were observed between species. The four species shared 29 compounds enabling us to establish a specific chemical footprint for Mediterranean marine plants, including compounds like benzaldehyde, benzeneacetaldehyde, 8-heptadecene, heneicosane, heptadecane, nonadecane, octadecane, pentadecane, tetradecane, and tridecanal. PLS-DA and Heatmap show that the four species presented significantly different chemical profiles. The major compounds per species in relative abundance were isopropyl myristate for C. nodosa (25.6%), DMS for P. oceanica (39.3%), pentadecane for Z. marina (42.9%), and heptadecane for Z. noltei (46%). Conclusions: These results highlight the potential of BVOCs’ emission from seagrass ecosystems and reveal species-specific chemical markers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification)
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Review

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8 pages, 1473 KiB  
Review
Light Spectral-Ranged Specific Metabolisms of Plant Pigments
by The Ngoc Phuong Nguyen and Jwakyung Sung
Metabolites 2025, 15(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15010001 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 529
Abstract
Chlorophyll is the primary pigment responsible for capturing light energy during photosynthesis, while carotenoids assist in light absorption and provide photoprotection by dissipating excess energy. Both pigments are essential for plant growth and development, playing distinct and complementary roles in maintaining photosynthetic efficiency [...] Read more.
Chlorophyll is the primary pigment responsible for capturing light energy during photosynthesis, while carotenoids assist in light absorption and provide photoprotection by dissipating excess energy. Both pigments are essential for plant growth and development, playing distinct and complementary roles in maintaining photosynthetic efficiency and protecting plants from oxidative stress. Because of their function in photosynthesis and photoprotection, chlorophyll and carotenoid accumulation are strongly associated with light conditions, especially blue and red lights, which play key roles in regulating their metabolisms. Despite advancements in understanding pigment metabolism, there remains a limited comprehensive overview of how various parts of the light spectrum influence these pathways throughout the entire process. The effects of other spectral ranges of light, such as green light, far-red light, and UV, are not yet fully understood. This review aims to synthesize recent findings about the regulatory network of chlorophyll and carotenoid pathways under different light spectral bands, emphasizing the interplay between light-regulated transcription factors and genes involved in their biosynthesis and degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification)
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19 pages, 892 KiB  
Review
The Mitochondrial Blueprint: Unlocking Secondary Metabolite Production
by Yang Li, Yujia Zhang, Xinyu He, Ziyi Guo, Ning Yang, Guohui Bai, Juanjuan Zhao and Delin Xu
Metabolites 2024, 14(12), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14120711 - 18 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1101
Abstract
Mitochondrial metabolism plays a pivotal role in regulating the synthesis of secondary metabolites, which are crucial for the survival and adaptation of organisms. These metabolites are synthesized during specific growth stages or in response to environmental stress, reflecting the organism’s ability to adapt [...] Read more.
Mitochondrial metabolism plays a pivotal role in regulating the synthesis of secondary metabolites, which are crucial for the survival and adaptation of organisms. These metabolites are synthesized during specific growth stages or in response to environmental stress, reflecting the organism’s ability to adapt to changing conditions. Mitochondria, while primarily known for their role in energy production, directly regulate secondary metabolite biosynthesis by providing essential precursor molecules, energy, and reducing equivalents necessary for metabolic reactions. Furthermore, they indirectly influence secondary metabolism through intricate signaling pathways, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), metabolites, and redox signaling, which modulate various metabolic processes. This review explores recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms governing mitochondrial metabolism and their regulatory roles in secondary metabolite biosynthesis, which highlights the involvement of transcription factors, small RNAs, and post-translational mitochondrial modifications in shaping these processes. By integrating current insights, it aims to inspire future research into mitochondrial regulatory mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana, Solanum tuberosum, Nicotiana tabacum, and others that may enhance their secondary metabolite production. A deeper understanding of the roles of mitochondria in secondary metabolism could contribute to the development of new approaches in biotechnology applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unlocking Nature's Toolbox: Advances in Plant Metabolites Identification)
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