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Separations
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Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds
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Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Analysis of Natural Products and Pharmaceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 May 2025 | Viewed by 4016

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Iulia Varzaru

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Guest Editor
Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Animal Nutrition and Biology, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Interests: extraction/purification technologies; chromatographic methods; plant extracts; bioactive compounds; liposoluble antioxidants; bioavailability of plant active compounds; functional foods; agro-industrial by-products; food quality analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Arabela Elena Untea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Feed and Food Quality Department, National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Calea Bucuresti, No. 1, 077015 Balotesti, Romania
Interests: oxidative stability of foods; food design; natural antioxidants and mechanisms of action; lipid peroxidation; food shelf life; in vivo and in vitro methods for antioxidant activity and bioavailability assessment; extraction methods; isolation of plant active compounds; waste valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on plant-derived compounds has received increased attention among scientists worldwide in their attempt to discover new sources of biologically active natural compounds with marked therapeutic actions and minimal adverse effects. These bioactive compounds, often present in fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, agri-food by-products, and other plant-based materials, possess biological activities that can positively impact human health and well-being. Plants containing beneficial phytochemicals may supplement the needs of the human body by acting as natural antioxidants. Due to the high amounts of complex phytochemicals present in plants, the separation, identification, and characterization of bioactive compounds can be challenging as the plant extract usually occurs as a combination of various types of bioactive compound with different polarities.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality articles and reviews, exploring effective methods for bioactive compound analysis and applications in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Topics include, but are not limited to, the extraction, separation, and isolation of biologically active natural compounds; antioxidant features, delivery, and bioavailability in the human body; and also various complementary studies needed to enhance the potential functionalities of bioactive compounds found in unexploited agri-food sources, by‐products, or other plant-based materials, which may be beneficial to human health. 

Dr. Iulia Varzaru
Dr. Arabela Elena Untea
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. Separations 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 2600 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

  • plants
  • by-products
  • bioactive compounds
  • isolation methods
  • chromatography
  • antioxidant activity
  • antimicrobial activity
  • bioavailable compounds
  • nutraceuticals

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3919 KiB  
Article
Fatty Acid Profiling in Greek Wines by Liquid Chromatography–High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS)
by Maroula G. Kokotou
Separations 2024, 11(11), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11110321 - 6 Nov 2024
Viewed by 386
Abstract
In recent years, the interest in lipids present in wines has increased, because these natural components, even at low or very low concentrations, play an important role in wine evolution and quality and contribute substantially to the taste and mouthfeel of wines. Herein, [...] Read more.
In recent years, the interest in lipids present in wines has increased, because these natural components, even at low or very low concentrations, play an important role in wine evolution and quality and contribute substantially to the taste and mouthfeel of wines. Herein, we present a liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method for the profiling of free fatty acids (FFAs) in wines. The method is fast and allows the simultaneous determination of twenty-seven saturated and unsaturated FFAs in wine samples, avoiding any prior derivatization step. After validation, a variety of white and rose commercial wine samples from the Greek market, either sparkling or non-sparkling, were analyzed by the present method. The majority of wine FFAs are saturated long aliphatic, in particular palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) acids, followed by myristic (C14:0) and pentadecanoic (C15:0) acids, while oleic (C18:1), palmitoleic (C16:1) and linoleic (C18:2) acids were quantified among the unsaturated FAs. The medium-chain C6:0 and the unsaturated C16:1 and C18:2 acids were found at higher concentrations in rose wines compared to white. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds)
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15 pages, 1399 KiB  
Article
Bioactives in Berry Fruits with Emphasis on In Vitro Bioaccessibility for Human Nutrition
by Iulia Varzaru, Arabela Elena Untea, Alexandra Gabriela Oancea, Mihaela Saracila and Petru Alexandru Vlaicu
Separations 2024, 11(10), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11100286 - 6 Oct 2024
Viewed by 632
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the bioaccessibility and biostability of carotenoids, vitamin E isomers, and individual polyphenolic compounds after the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of two types of berries (raspberry and blackberry fruits). The results of the polyphenols analysis showed that raspberry fruits [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the bioaccessibility and biostability of carotenoids, vitamin E isomers, and individual polyphenolic compounds after the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of two types of berries (raspberry and blackberry fruits). The results of the polyphenols analysis showed that raspberry fruits contained higher concentrations of hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavanols, and flavonols compared to blackberry fruits, but exhibited the lowest bioaccessibility values for all the studied polyphenol classes. Ellagic acid represented 13.63% and 2.65% of the hydroxybenzoic acids in raspberry and blackberry fruits. The hydroxybenzoic acids exhibited the highest bioaccessibility index in the intestinal phase of both types of berries, and gallic acid emerged as one of the most bioaccessible phenolic compounds. The bioaccessibility of carotenoids ranged between 15.7 and 17.30% for lutein, 5.52 and 7.56% for astaxanthin, and 7.85 and 9.93% for canthaxanthin, with elevated values being observed in raspberry fruits. Although vitamin E and carotenoids follow a similar path for absorption, the bioaccessibility of vitamin E isomers was higher than that of carotenoids, with γ-tocopherol being the most bioaccessible isomer in both raspberries and blackberries. Knowing the bioaccessibility of food constituents during digestion is crucial, as the potential effectiveness of bioactives for human health largely depends on the bioavailability of these molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds)
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16 pages, 3287 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Antioxidant Potential of Blackthorns and Hawthorns: Comparative Analysis and Potential Use in Ruminants’ Nutrition
by Alexandra-Gabriela Oancea, Mihaela Saracila, Petru Alexandru Vlaicu, Iulia Varzaru, Arabela Elena Untea and Catalin Dragomir
Separations 2024, 11(9), 275; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11090275 - 22 Sep 2024
Viewed by 540
Abstract
The food industry is intensifying its effort to enrich food composition in various nutrients through animal feeding, but these challenges can be limited by the costly feed resources, water scarcity, and pesticide pollution, making it crucial to explore alternative feedstuffs with fewer requirements. [...] Read more.
The food industry is intensifying its effort to enrich food composition in various nutrients through animal feeding, but these challenges can be limited by the costly feed resources, water scarcity, and pesticide pollution, making it crucial to explore alternative feedstuffs with fewer requirements. Blackthorns and hawthorns are characterized by their rich phytochemical and antioxidant profiles, suggesting their potential to enhance the performance of ruminants though the supply of bioactive substances. Our study revealed their rich composition of micronutrients; hawthorns showed a remarkable amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (57.23 g FAME/100 g total FAME), particularly omega-3 and omega-6, while blackthorn presented higher concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids, specifically oleic acid (56.99 g FAME/100 g total FAME). In terms of lipo-soluble antioxidants, blackthorn exhibited higher levels of xanthophyll and vitamin E (123.83 mg/kg DM), including its isomers (alpha, gamma, and delta). Concerning the water-soluble antioxidants, hawthorns showed elevated composition of the total content of flavonoids and polyphenols, comparing with blackthorn. Moreover, hawthorns showed a high antioxidant capacity, as assessed through DPPH, ABTS, and TAC analyses. In terms of the scavenging capacity of blackthorn and hawthorn against superoxide radicals, blackthorn had higher radical scavenging potential against superoxide radicals, compared to hawthorn. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds)
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16 pages, 5889 KiB  
Article
LC-MS/MS-QTOF Identification of Phenolic Compounds of Sideritis Species Cultivated in Greece
by Eleftheria H. Kaparakou, Charalabos D. Kanakis, Maroula G. Kokotou, Georgios Papadopoulos and Petros A. Tarantilis
Separations 2024, 11(8), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11080229 - 26 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1951
Abstract
Phenolic compounds are plant secondary metabolites, one of the most common and widespread groups of substances in plants, as well as a major group of phytochemicals present in medicinal and aromatic plants. The phytochemical composition of the hydroalcoholic extracts from S. raeseri, [...] Read more.
Phenolic compounds are plant secondary metabolites, one of the most common and widespread groups of substances in plants, as well as a major group of phytochemicals present in medicinal and aromatic plants. The phytochemical composition of the hydroalcoholic extracts from S. raeseri, S. scardica and S. syriaca was determined by LC-MS/MS-QTOF analysis. A total amount of 23 secondary metabolites were identified, including 17 flavonoids (Fs), 4 phenylethanoid glycosides (PEGs), 1 phenolic acid (PA) and 1 fatty acid (FA). Among the three species, the constituents that have been detected in all of nine samples were: verbascocide/isoverbascoside (PEG), apigenin 7-O- glucoside (F), isoscutellarein 7-O-[6″-O-acetyl]-allosyl(1→2)-glucoside (F) and apigenin 7-(4″-p-coumaroylglucoside) (F). This study contributes to the phytochemical characterization of the Sideritis spp. by providing a comparative study of bioactive compounds present in three different Sideritis species, S. raeseri, S. scardica and S. syriaca, which are widely used as a herbal medicine in Mediterranean region and Balkan Peninsula. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation and Identification of Biologically Active Natural Compounds)
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