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Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 20334

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Octavian Tudorel Olaru

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, 020956 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: anticancer research; pharmaceutical botany; pharmacognosy; alternative toxicology testing
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Prof. Dr. George Mihai Nitulescu

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 6 Traian Vuia Street, 020956 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: the design and synthesis of new anticancer agents; the design and synthesis of new antimicrobial compounds; studies and structural analysis; the isolation and analysis of natural compounds with anticancer effects; computer-assisted drug design studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polyphenols represent a large family of natural compounds that are widely distributed in medicinal and dietary plants. These phenolic compounds are important for the growth and development of plants, and are used as a defense system against fungi, bacteria, viruses, insects and herbivores. From a chemical perspective, polyphenols are structurally diverse, and comprise major classes of flavonoids, coumarins, phenolic acids, tannins, lignans and stilbenes. Polyphenols are commonly found in nutritional products, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as beverages, such as wine, beer and tea, and represent an important role in the human diet. Epidemiological and clinical evidence indicate that consuming a diet based on foods that are high in polyphenols reduces the risk of several chronic diseases. A large array of in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies on plant extracts that are high in polyphenols or specific isolated compounds highlights the vast pharmacological potential of this class of natural compounds.

This Special Issue aims to provide a multidisciplinary survey of the recent studies on polyphenols, focused, in particular, on the prevention of diseases, as well as on the improvements in health. The manuscripts of interest include research of any type on polyphenols, either as pure compounds, vegetal extracts or food products. Both preclinical and clinical study designs, as well as observational studies, are welcome. We invite original research articles and specialized critical reviews.

Dr. Octavian Tudorel Olaru
Dr. George Mihai Nitulescu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

bioactive compounds
plant extracts
natural medicines
pharmacologically privileged heterocycles
flavonoids
coumarins
tannins
functional foods
phenolic-rich foods

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4145 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aqueous Extract of Artemisia annua Shows In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity and an In Vivo Chemopreventive Effect in a Small-Cell Lung Cancer Model

by Khaled S. Allemailem

Plants 2022, 11(23), 3341; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11233341 - 1 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2720

Abstract

Artemisia annua (A. annua) has been used as a medicinal plant in the treatment of several infectious and non-infectious diseases in the forms of tea and press juice since ancient times. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aqueous extract of A. annua (AAE) as an antimicrobial agent in vitro and to evaluate its chemopreventive efficacy in vivo in a small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) animal model. The dried powder of AAE was prepared using the Soxhlet extraction system from the leaves of Artemisia annua. The in vitro activity of AAE was determined against Candida albicans (C. albicans), Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using the agar well diffusion method and propidium iodide (PI)-stained microbial death under a confocal microscope. The pretreatment of mice with AAE was initiated two weeks before the first dose of benzo[a]pyrene and continued for 21 weeks. The chemopreventive potential of the extract was evaluated by flow cytometry and biochemical and histopathological analyses of the tissues and serum accordingly, after sacrificing the mice. The data revealed the antimicrobial potential of AAE against all the species investigated, as it showed growth-inhibitory activity by MIC, as well as confocal microscopy. The pretreatment of AAE exhibited significant protection in carcinogen-modulated, average body weight (ABW), and relative organ weight (ROW) cancer biomarkers in the serum and antioxidants in the lungs. The hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of the tissues revealed that AAE prevented malignancy in the lungs. AAE also induced apoptosis and decreased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the lung cells analyzed by flow cytometry. The current findings demonstrated the use of AAE as an alternative medicine in the treatment of infectious disease and the chemoprevention of lung cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first study that summarizes the chemopreventive potential of AAE in a lung cancer model in vivo. However, further investigations are suggested to understand the role of AAE to potentiate the therapeutic index of the commercially available drugs that show multiple drug resistance against microbial growth and high toxicity during cancer chemotherapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

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26 pages, 4189 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Influence of Phytosociological Cultivation and Fertilization on Polyphenolic Content of Menthae and Melissae folium and Evaluation of Antioxidant Properties through In Vitro and In Silico Methods

by Emanuela Alice Luță, Andrei Biță, Alina Moroșan, Dan Eduard Mihaiescu, Manuela Ghica, Dragoș Paul Mihai, Octavian Tudorel Olaru, Teodora Deculescu-Ioniță, Ligia Elena Duțu, Maria Lidia Popescu, Liliana Costea, George Mihai Nitulescu, Dumitru Lupuliasa, Rica Boscencu and Cerasela Elena Gîrd

Plants 2022, 11(18), 2398; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11182398 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2290

Abstract

Since medicinal plants are widely used in treating various diseases, phytoconstituents enrichment strategies are of high interest for plant growers. First of all, we investigated the impact of phytosociological cultivation on polyphenolic content (total flavonoids—TFL, and total polyphenols—TPC) of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) leaves, using spectrophotometric methods. Secondly, the influence of chemical (NPK) and organic (BIO) fertilization on polyphenolic content and plant material quality was also assessed. Dry extracts were obtained from harvested leaves using hydroethanolic extraction solvents for further qualitative and quantitative assessment of phytoconstituents by FT-ICR MS and UHPLC-MS. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of leaf extracts was determined in vitro using DPPH, ABTS and FRAP methods. Molecular docking simulations were employed to further evaluate the antioxidant potential of obtained extracts, predicting the interactions of identified phytochemicals with sirtuins. The concentration of polyphenols was higher in the plant material harvested from the phytosociological culture. Moreover, the use of BIO fertilizer led to the biosynthesis of a higher content of polyphenols. Higher amounts of phytochemicals, such as caffeic acid, were determined in extracts obtained from phytosociological crops. The antioxidant activity was dependent on polyphenols concentration, more potent inhibition values being observed for the extracts obtained from the phytosociological batches. Molecular docking studies and MM/PBSA calculations revealed that the obtained extracts have the potential to directly activate sirtuins 1, 5 and 6 through several polyphenolic compounds, such as rosmarinic acid, thus complementing the free radical scavenging activity with the potential stimulation of endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms. In conclusion, growing medicinal plants in phytosociological cultures treated with biofertilizers can have a positive impact on plant material quality, concentration in active constituents and biological activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

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33 pages, 2461 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Polyphenolic Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Five Vegetal Extracts with Hepatoprotective Potential

by Liliana Costea, Carmen Lidia Chițescu, Rica Boscencu, Manuela Ghica, Dumitru Lupuliasa, Dragoș Paul Mihai, Teodora Deculescu-Ioniță, Ligia Elena Duțu, Maria Lidia Popescu, Emanuela-Alice Luță, George Mihai Nițulescu, Octavian Tudorel Olaru and Cerasela Elena Gîrd

Plants 2022, 11(13), 1680; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11131680 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3743

Abstract

Oxidative stress is among the major triggers for many important human functional disorders, which often lead to various metabolic or tissue diseases. The aim of the study is to obtain five standardized vegetal extracts (Cynarae extractum—CE, Rosmarini extractum—RE, Taraxaci extractum—TE, Cichorii extractum—CHE, and Agrimoniae extractum—AE) that contain active principles with an essential role in protecting liver cells against free radicals and quantify their antioxidant actions. The compounds of therapeutic interest from the analyzed extracts were identified and quantified using the UHPLC–HRMS/MS technique. Thus, the resulting identified compounds were 28 compounds in CE, 48 compounds in RE, 39 compounds in TE, 43 compounds in CHE, and 31 compounds in AE. These compounds belong to the class of flavonoids, isoflavones, phenolic acids and dicarboxylic acids, depsides, diterpenes, triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, proanthocyanidins, or coumarin derivatives. From the major polyphenolic compounds quantified in all the extracts analyzed by UHPLC–HRMS/MS, considerable amounts have been found for chlorogenic acid (619.8 µg/g extract for TE–2032.4 µg/g extract for AE), rutoside (105.1 µg/g extract for RE–1724.7 µg/g extract for AE), kaempferol (243 µg/g extract for CHE–2028.4 µg/g extract for CE), and for naringenin (383 µg/g extract for CHE–1375.8 µg/g extract for AE). The quantitative chemical analysis showed the highest content of total phenolic acids for AE (24.1528 ± 1.1936 g chlorogenic acid/100 g dry extract), the highest concentration of flavones for RE (6.0847 ± 0.3025 g rutoside/100 g dry extract), and the richest extract in total polyphenols with 31.7017 ± 1.2211 g tannic acid equivalent/100 g dry extract for AE. Several methods (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP) have been used to determine the in vitro total antioxidant activity of the extracts to evaluate their free radical scavenging ability, influenced by the identified compounds. As a result, the correlation between the content of the polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant effect of the extracts has been demonstrated. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the antiradical capacity within the study groups. Although all the analyzed extracts showed good IC50 values, which may explain their antihepatotoxic effects, the highest antioxidant activity was obtained for Agrimoniae extractum (IC50_ABTS = 0.0147 mg/mL) and the lowest antioxidant activity was obtained for Cynarae extractum (IC50_ABTS = 0.1588 mg/mL). Furthermore, the hepatoprotective potential was evaluated in silico by predicting the interactions between the determined phytochemicals and key molecular targets relevant to liver disease pathophysiology. Finally, the evaluation of the pharmacognostic and phytochemical properties of the studied extracts validates their use as adjuvants in phytotherapy, as they reduce oxidative stress and toxin accumulation and thus exert a hepatoprotective effect at the cellular level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

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9 pages, 301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polyphenolic Profile, Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Nociceptive Activities of Some African Medicinal Plants

by Windmi Kagambega, Hadidjatou Belem, Roland Nâg-Tiéro Meda, Benjamin Kouliga Koama, Anne-Flora Drabo, Jacques Kabore, Amadou Traore, Georges Anicet Ouédraogo, Daniela Benedec, Daniela Hanganu, Laurian Vlase, Ana-Maria Vlase, Oliviu Voștinaru, Cristina Mogoșan and Ilioara Oniga

Plants 2022, 11(10), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11101377 - 22 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2337

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the polyphenolic profile and the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of four traditionally used medicinal plants from Burkina Faso: Parkia biglobosa, Detarium microcarpum, Vitellaria paradoxa and Sclerocarya birrea. The analysis of the main phenolic compounds was performed by the HPLC-UV-MS method. The anti-inflammatory effect of the aqueous bark extracts was investigated by the λ-carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test. The anti-nociceptive activity was evaluated by the Randall–Selitto test under inflammatory conditions. Seven phenolic acids (gallic, protocatechuic, gentisic, vanillic, p-coumaric, ferulic, and syringic acids), and three flavonoids (catechin, epicatechin, and quercitrin) were identified in the plant samples. High contents of gallic acid were determined in the D. microcarpum, P. biglobosa and S. birrea extracts (190–300 mg/100 g), and V. paradoxa extract was the richest in epicatechin (173.86 mg/100 g). The λ-carrageenan-induced inflammation was significantly reduced (p < 0.001) by the P. biglobosa and D. microcarpum extracts (400 mg/kg p.o.). Under the inflammatory conditions, a significant anti-nociceptive activity (p < 0.001) was obtained after 2–3 h from the induction of inflammation. The effects of the tested extracts could be related to the presence of polyphenols and could be useful in the management of certain inflammatory diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

Review

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25 pages, 1655 KiB

Open AccessReview

Formulation Strategies for Enhancing Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Sesamol: A Natural Phenolic Bioactive

by Anroop B. Nair, Pooja Dalal, Varsha Kadian, Sunil Kumar, Minakshi Garg, Rekha Rao, Rashed M. Almuqbil, Ahmed S. Alnaim, Bandar Aldhubiab and Fatemah Alqattan

Plants 2023, 12(5), 1168; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051168 - 3 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2815

Abstract

Natural plants and their products continue to be the major source of phytoconstituents in food and therapeutics. Scientific studies have evidenced the benefits of sesame oil and its bioactives in various health conditions. Various bioactives present in it include sesamin, sasamolin, sesaminol, and sesamol; among these, sesamol represents a major constituent. This bioactive is responsible for preventing various diseases including cancer, hepatic disorders, cardiac ailments, and neurological diseases. In the last decade, the application of sesamol in the management of various disorders has attracted the increasing interest of the research community. Owing to its prominent pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antineoplastic, and antimicrobial, sesamol has been explored for the above-mentioned disorders. However, despite the above-mentioned therapeutic potential, its clinical utility is mainly hindered owing to low solubility, stability, bioavailability, and rapid clearance issues. In this regard, numerous strategies have been explored to surpass these restrictions with the formulation of novel carrier platforms. This review aims to describe the various reports and summarize the different pharmacological activities of sesamol. Furthermore, one part of this review is devoted to formulating strategies to improve sesamol’s challenges. To resolve the issues such as the stability, low bioavailability, and high systemic clearance of sesamol, novel carrier systems have been developed to open a new avenue to utilize this bioactive as an efficient first-line treatment for various diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

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23 pages, 1317 KiB

Open AccessReview

Regulation of Gene Expression through Food—Curcumin as a Sirtuin Activity Modulator

by Anca Ungurianu, Anca Zanfirescu and Denisa Margină

Plants 2022, 11(13), 1741; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11131741 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5281

Abstract

The sirtuin family comprises NAD⁺-dependent protein lysine deacylases, mammalian sirtuins being either nuclear (SIRT1, SIRT2, SIRT6, and SIRT7), mitochondrial (SIRT3, SIRT4, and SIRT5) or cytosolic enzymes (SIRT2 and SIRT5). They are able to catalyze direct metabolic reactions, thus regulating several physiological functions, such as energy metabolism, stress response, inflammation, cell survival, DNA repair, tissue regeneration, neuronal signaling, and even circadian rhythms. Based on these data, recent research was focused on finding molecules that could regulate sirtuins’ expression and/or activity, natural compounds being among the most promising in the field. Curcumin (1,7-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) can induce, through SIRT, modulation of cancer cell senescence, improve endothelial cells protection against atherosclerotic factors, enhance muscle regeneration in atrophy models, and act as a pro-longevity factor counteracting the neurotoxicity of amyloid-beta. Although a plethora of protective effects was reported (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, etc.), its therapeutical use is limited due to its bioavailability issues. However, all the reported effects may be explained via the bioactivation theory, which postulates that curcumin’s observed actions are modulated via its metabolites and/or degradation products. The present article is focused on bringing together the literature data correlating the ability of curcumin and its metabolites to modulate SIRT activity and its consequent beneficial effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Potential of Polyphenolic Natural Compounds)

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