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Metabolites
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Association between Natural Products and the Metabolism in Humans
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Association between Natural Products and the Metabolism in Humans

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 5006

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hui Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
Interests: natural products; molecular metabolism; secondary metabolite; pharmacokinetics; metabolic transformation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Feifei Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
Interests: metabolite identification; analytical chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural products and their structural analogues have historically played an important role in pharmacotherapy, especially in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Natural products have a wide variety of sources, including secondary metabolites and endogenous active compounds isolated from animals, plants, and microorganisms. Natural products profoundly affect human physiology, metabolism, and stress response. Tremendous studies have shown that the in vivo pharmacodynamic effects of natural products are closely related to their metabolic profiles. For example, in secondary metabolism, glycosylation often improves the solubility and stability of microbial natural products, enhances their bioactivity, and greatly promotes the drug-forming properties of natural products. The analysis and reconstruction of novel metabolic mechanisms by means of genome mining and synthetic biology, and the development of small molecule drugs with new structures through structural modification, modification and optimization can provide new ideas for breaking through the bottleneck in the development of molecularly targeted drugs. Targeting natural drug molecular families with significant activity, unique structure or/and wide clinical application, revealing the in vivo biotransformation and analyzing the molecular mechanism can further promote the development of natural products. In recent years, several technological and scientific developments, including improvements in analytical tools, genome mining and engineering strategies, and advances in microbial culture, have injected new opportunities for natural product-related research. Here, we aim to compile innovative original research and review articles that shed light on the metabolic transformations, potential targets, molecular mechanisms of natural products and their association with the human metabolism.

Dr. Hui Li
Dr. Feifei Sun
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 products
  • molecular mechanisms
  • metabolic transformation
  • cell metabolism
  • ADME
  • metabolomics
  • bioactivity

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3324 KiB  
Article
Metabolomic Insights into the Mechanisms of Ganoderic Acid: Protection against α-Amanitin-Induced Liver Injury
by Chong Zheng, Shaofang Lv, Jianfang Ye, Lu Zou, Kai Zhu, Haichang Li, Yongxi Dong and Lei Li
Metabolites 2023, 13(11), 1164; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13111164 - 20 Nov 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
α-Amanitin is a representative toxin found in the Amanita genus of mushrooms, and the consumption of mushrooms containing α-Amanitin can lead to severe liver damage. In this study, we conduct toxicological experiments to validate the protective effects of Ganoderic acid A against α-amanitin-induced [...] Read more.
α-Amanitin is a representative toxin found in the Amanita genus of mushrooms, and the consumption of mushrooms containing α-Amanitin can lead to severe liver damage. In this study, we conduct toxicological experiments to validate the protective effects of Ganoderic acid A against α-amanitin-induced liver damage. By establishing animal models with different durations of Ganoderic acid A treatment and conducting a metabolomic analysis of the serum samples, we further confirmed the differences in serum metabolites between the AMA+GA and AMA groups. The analysis of differential serum metabolites after the Ganoderic acid A intervention suggests that Ganoderic acid A may intervene in α-amanitin-induced liver damage by participating in the regulation of retinol metabolism, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, sphingosine biosynthesis, spermidine and spermine biosynthesis, and branched-chain amino acid metabolism. This provides initial insights into the protective intervention mechanisms of GA against α-amanitin-induced liver damage and offers new avenues for the development of therapeutic drugs for α-Amanitin poisoning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Association between Natural Products and the Metabolism in Humans)
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12 pages, 1472 KiB  
Article
Effects of Origanum majorana on Breast Cancer Cells: An Alternative to Chemotherapy?
by Zoe Sanders, Bridgette A. Moffitt, Madeleine Treaster, Ashley Larkins, Nicholas Khulordava, Jennifer Benjock, Jillian Spencer, Krista Henrie, Matthew J. Wurst, Abigail Broom, Noah Tamez, Gianna DeRosa, McKenzie Campbell, Elizabeth Keller, Addison Powell, Donna Weinbrenner, Ludovico Abenavoli, W. Jeffery Edenfield, Ki Chung, Luigi Boccuto and Diana Ivankovicadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Metabolites 2023, 13(10), 1083; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13101083 - 16 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2245
Abstract
Recent studies have reported several beneficial effects of natural compounds on cancerous cells, highlighting their use for future treatments. These preliminary findings have encouraged experiments with natural substances, such as plant extracts, to examine both cytotoxic and mitogenic effects and find alternative treatments [...] Read more.
Recent studies have reported several beneficial effects of natural compounds on cancerous cells, highlighting their use for future treatments. These preliminary findings have encouraged experiments with natural substances, such as plant extracts, to examine both cytotoxic and mitogenic effects and find alternative treatments for diseases such as breast cancer. This study examines the effects of microwave-assisted and ethanol maceration of marjoram (Origanum majorana) on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines and normal breast tissue cell lines used as controls. Marjoram extracts displayed a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 cell lines and a mitogenic effect on the control cell lines at the MTS test. The metabolic profiles of MCF-7 and control cell lines were also assessed using the Biolog Phenotype Mammalian Metabolic (PM-M) platform and revealed statistically significant differences in the utilization of energy sources, metabolic activity in the presence of certain ionic species, and responses to metabolic effectors, such as stimulant/catabolic compounds and steroid hormones. Exposure to marjoram extracts exerted positive effects on the MCF-7 cells on the abnormal utilization of energy sources and the responses to metabolic effectors, while no major effects were detected on control cells. These effects were compared to the metabolic impact of the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin, which showed profound cytotoxic effects on both cancerous and normal breast cells. In conclusion, our in vitro evidence indicates that marjoram extracts are a promising alternative to chemotherapy in breast cancer since they can successfully eliminate cancerous cells by affecting their metabolic capacity to proliferate without inducing noticeable adverse effects on normal breast tissue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Association between Natural Products and the Metabolism in Humans)
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Review

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16 pages, 3735 KiB  
Review
Targeting Disulfidptosis with Potentially Bioactive Natural Products in Metabolic Cancer Therapy
by Xinyan Li, Jiayi Xu, Liangwen Yan, Shenkang Tang, Yinggang Zhang, Mengjiao Shi and Pengfei Liu
Metabolites 2024, 14(11), 604; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14110604 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 491
Abstract
Background: Metabolic cancers are defined by metabolic reprogramming. Although this reprograming drives rapid tumour growth and invasion, it also reveals specific metabolic vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited in cancer therapy. A novel form of programmed cell death, known as disulfidptosis, was identified [...] Read more.
Background: Metabolic cancers are defined by metabolic reprogramming. Although this reprograming drives rapid tumour growth and invasion, it also reveals specific metabolic vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited in cancer therapy. A novel form of programmed cell death, known as disulfidptosis, was identified last year; tumour cells with high SLC7A11 expression undergo disulfidptosis when deprived of glucose. Natural products have attracted increasing attention and have shown potential to treat metabolic cancers through diverse mechanisms. Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases involving PubMed, Web of Science, Gooale Scholar. To ensue comprehensive exploration, keywords including metabolic reprogramming, metabolic cancer, disulfidptosis, natural products and some other words were employed. Results: In this review, we focus on the shared characteristics and metabolic vulnerabilities of metabolic cancers. Additionally, we discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying disulfidptosis and highlight key regulatory genes. Furthermore, we predict bioactive natural products that target disulfidptosis-related genes, offering new perspectives for anticancer strategies through the modulation of disulfidptosis. Conclusions: By summarizing current research progress, this review mainly analyzed the potential mechanisms of natural products in the treatment of metabolic cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Association between Natural Products and the Metabolism in Humans)
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