molecules-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Discovery of Bioactive Ingredients from Natural Products, 5th Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 2884

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)—Research Center for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
Interests: citrus bioactive compounds; recovery of high value compounds from fruit processing wastes; mild food processing; quality of foods; traceability of organic food productions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology—State Research Institute, 36 Rakowiecka Street, 02532 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: fruits; vegetables; emerging techniques; food processing and preservation; bioaccessibility and bioavailability; high-pressure processing; high-pressure homogenization; high-pressure carbon dioxide; ultrasounds; microwaves; food chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, SAAF, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Build 4-I, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: fruit quality; horticultural physiology and preservation recovery of high value compounds from food processing wastes; fruit processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Mediterranean diet is recognized worldwide as being associated with a lower risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke. This lower risk is universally ascribed to the high intake of vegetables and fruits and, consequently, the high ingestion of phytochemicals. At present, there is a great interest in the development of new nutraceuticals of natural origin for use within the pharmaceutical field and/or as dietary supplements. For instance, the agri-food industry produces a large amount of waste, which can be conveniently used for the recovery of valuable health-promoting compounds for use as natural ingredients.

Therefore, this Special Issue of Molecules is dedicated to original research and review articles that cover the latest findings on new extraction techniques for the recovery of bioactive constituents from fruit and/or vegetables, the chemical characterization of phytoextracts with valuable biological activity, in vivo tests and in vitro bioassays to support biological activity of purified compounds, and complex extracts and/or combined extracts derived from different matrices. Studies focusing on the valorization of bioactive extracts derived from traditional or ancient plant and/or fruit species are also welcome.

Dr. Simona Fabroni
Dr. Krystian Marszałek
Dr. Aldo Todaro
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. Molecules 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

  • bioactive constituents
  • phytoextract
  • biological activity
  • natural products
  • natural compounds
  • marine compounds
  • herbals
  • phytochemicals

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 2143 KiB  
Article
Effect of Selenium Supplementation on Biotin and Selenobiotin Concentrations in Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Trichosporon cutaneum Cells
by Andrea Maria Patelski, Urszula Dziekońska-Kubczak, Agnieszka Nowak, Maciej Ditrych, Maria Balcerek, Katarzyna Pielech-Przybylska and Piotr Dziugan
Molecules 2024, 29(23), 5607; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29235607 - 27 Nov 2024
Viewed by 29
Abstract
Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of selenium compounds in preventing and treating lifestyle-related diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders. The formulation of selenium-enriched supplements for humans and animals, particularly those containing selenium yeast, is highly advantageous. These products are rich in [...] Read more.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of selenium compounds in preventing and treating lifestyle-related diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders. The formulation of selenium-enriched supplements for humans and animals, particularly those containing selenium yeast, is highly advantageous. These products are rich in organic selenium derivatives, showing significantly higher bioavailability than inorganic forms of selenium. A particularly promising selenium analogue of sulphur-containing compounds is selenobiotin. The literature indicates that Phycomyces blakesleeanus and Escherichia coli strains can synthesise this compound. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of selenium supplementation on the biosynthesis of biotin and selenobiotin in Trichosporon cutaneum and Meyerozyma guilliermondii. The results have the potential to advance biotechnological approaches for the production of selenobiotin for various applications. A method based on affinity chromatography was used to quantify selenobiotin. The results confirmed that both yeast strains could synthesise selenobiotin in addition to biotin. In M. guilliermondii cells, selenobiotin accounted for up to 17.3% of the total biotin vitamer fraction. In comparison, in T. cutaneum cells, it accounted for up to 28.4% of the sum of biotin and its analogues. The highest levels of selenobiotin were observed in cells cultured with selenomethionine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Bioactive Ingredients from Natural Products, 5th Edition)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 6329 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Wound Healing with Nanohydrogel-Entrapped Plant Extracts and Nanosilver: An In Vitro Investigation
by Devadass Jessy Mercy, Anbazhagan Thirumalai, Saranya Udayakumar, Balasubramanian Deepika, Gopalarethinam Janani, Agnishwar Girigoswami and Koyeli Girigoswami
Molecules 2024, 29(21), 5004; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29215004 - 22 Oct 2024
Viewed by 804
Abstract
Wound healing is a complex process that can be improved through advanced biomedical approaches. Incorporating nanopolymers and plant extracts into wound dressings offers a favorable strategy for promoting tissue repair. Nanopolymers provide a controlled environment for sustained drug release while also protecting the [...] Read more.
Wound healing is a complex process that can be improved through advanced biomedical approaches. Incorporating nanopolymers and plant extracts into wound dressings offers a favorable strategy for promoting tissue repair. Nanopolymers provide a controlled environment for sustained drug release while also protecting the wound from external contaminants. When combined with bioactive compounds from plant extracts, which possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, this hybrid approach can accelerate healing, reduce infection, and improve tissue regeneration. Hence, in this study, we have synthesized alginate/gelatin hydrogel blended with only nanosilver (Alg/gel-Ag) and with nanosilver and plant extracts like aloe vera, curcumin, plantain peel extract, and Calendula flower petal extract (Alg/gel-AgP). The synthesized hydrogels were characterized using different photophysical tools, and the cytotoxicity effect was studied using a fibroblast cell line (V79). The antibacterial effect of the hydrogels was also observed against E. coli and S. aureus, determining the MIC and MBC. The wound healing in vitro was also assessed using scratch assay which depicted a rapid wound closure for Alg/gel-AgP compared to the untreated control and Alg/gel-Ag. The combined effect between nanotechnology and natural extracts represents a novel and effective approach for enhancing the wound healing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Bioactive Ingredients from Natural Products, 5th Edition)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

11 pages, 1102 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Structure Determination of New Pyrones from Dictyostelium spp. Cellular Slime Molds Coincubated with Pseudomonas spp.
by Takehiro Nishimura, Takuya Murotani, Hitomi Sasaki, Yoshinori Uekusa, Hiromi Eguchi, Hirotaka Ishigaki, Katsunori Takahashi, Yuzuru Kubohara and Haruhisa Kikuchi
Molecules 2024, 29(9), 2143; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29092143 - 5 May 2024
Viewed by 985
Abstract
Cellular slime molds are excellent model organisms in the field of cell and developmental biology because of their simple developmental patterns. During our studies on the identification of bioactive molecules from secondary metabolites of cellular slime molds toward the development of novel pharmaceuticals, [...] Read more.
Cellular slime molds are excellent model organisms in the field of cell and developmental biology because of their simple developmental patterns. During our studies on the identification of bioactive molecules from secondary metabolites of cellular slime molds toward the development of novel pharmaceuticals, we revealed the structural diversity of secondary metabolites. Cellular slime molds grow by feeding on bacteria, such as Klebsiella aerogenes and Escherichia coli, without using medium components. Although changing the feeding bacteria is expected to affect dramatically the secondary metabolite production, the effect of the feeding bacteria on the production of secondary metabolites is not known. Herein, we report the isolation and structure elucidation of clavapyrone (1) from Dictyostelium clavatum, intermedipyrone (2) from D. magnum, and magnumiol (3) from D. intermedium. These compounds are not obtained from usual cultural conditions with Klebsiella aerogenes but obtained from coincubated conditions with Pseudomonas spp. The results demonstrate the diversity of the secondary metabolites of cellular slime molds and suggest that widening the range of feeding bacteria for cellular slime molds would increase their application potential in drug discovery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Discovery of Bioactive Ingredients from Natural Products, 5th Edition)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop