Metabolites

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Junsong Wang

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Guest Editor

Center for Molecular Metabolism, School of Environmental & Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094,China
Interests: functional metabolomics; natural products chemistry; traditional chinese medicines; bioinformatics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on plant natural product research and metabolomics aims to bring together works that advance our understanding of plant–environment interactions, the determination of chemical markers, and the prioritization and targeted isolation of active principles from medicinal plants. The natural products from plants have been a reliable source of potential drug-active components, and the bioactivity of natural extracts can be characterized by the synergism between different metabolites. Metabolomic approaches, such as LC/MS, GC/MS, and NMR, are appropriate ways to assess the complex interactions and to identify the different factors that may affect the production and accumulation of specialized metabolites in different species.

Prof. Dr. Junsong Wang
Guest Editor

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
metabolomics
plant–environment interactions
chemical markers
active principles
LC/MS
GC/MS
NMR

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Metabolic Characteristics in Different Geographical Locations and Yields of Nicotiana tabacum L. Using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Pseudotargeted Metabolomics Combined with Chemometrics

by Yuan Jing, Wei Chen, Xuebai Qiu, Shuyue Qin, Weichang Gao, Chaochan Li, Wenxuan Quan and Kai Cai

Metabolites 2024, 14(4), 176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo14040176 - 22 Mar 2024

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Abstract

The quality of crops is closely associated with their geographical location and yield, which is reflected in the composition of their metabolites. Hence, we employed GC–MS pseudotargeted metabolomics to investigate the metabolic characteristics of high-, medium-, and low-yield Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) leaves from the Bozhou (sweet honey flavour) and Shuicheng (light flavour) regions of Guizhou Province. A total of 124 metabolites were identified and classified into 22 chemical categories. Principal component analysis revealed that the geographical location exerted a greater influence on the metabolic profiling than the yield. Light-flavoured tobacco exhibited increased levels of sugar metabolism- and glycolysis-related intermediate products (trehalose, glucose-6-phosphate, and fructose-6-phosphate) and a few amino acids (proline and leucine), while sweet honey-flavoured tobacco exhibited increases in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) and the phenylpropane metabolic pathway (p-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, and maleic acid). Additionally, metabolite pathway enrichment analysis conducted at different yields and showed that both Shuicheng and Bozhou exhibited changes in six pathways and four of them were the same, mainly C/N metabolism. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed higher levels of intermediates related to glycolysis and sugar, amino acid, and alkaloid metabolism in the high-yield samples, while higher levels of phenylpropane in the low-yield samples. This study demonstrated that GC–MS pseudotargeted metabolomics-based metabolic profiling can be used to effectively discriminate tobacco leaves from different geographical locations and yields, thus facilitating a better understanding of the relationship between metabolites, yield, and geographical location. Consequently, metabolic profiles can serve as valuable indicators for characterizing tobacco yield and geographical location. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Plant Natural Products Research)

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Other

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26 pages, 1978 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Evaluating the Metabolomic Profile and Anti-Pathogenic Properties of Cannabis Species

by Shadrack Monyela, Prudence Ngalula Kayoka, Wonder Ngezimana and Lufuno Ethel Nemadodzi

Metabolites 2024, 14(5), 253; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo14050253 - 26 Apr 2024

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Abstract

The Cannabis species is one of the potent ancient medicinal plants acclaimed for its medicinal properties and recreational purposes. The plant parts are used and exploited all over the world for several agricultural and industrial applications. For many years Cannabis spp. has proven to present a highly diverse metabolomic profile with a pool of bioactive metabolites used for numerous pharmacological purposes ranging from anti-inflammatory to antimicrobial. Cannabis sativa has since been an extensive subject of investigation, monopolizing the research. Hence, there are fewer studies with a comprehensive understanding of the composition of bioactive metabolites grown in different environmental conditions, especially C. indica and a few other Cannabis strains. These pharmacological properties are mostly attributed to a few phytocannabinoids and some phytochemicals such as terpenoids or essential oils which have been tested for antimicrobial properties. Many other discovered compounds are yet to be tested for antimicrobial properties. These phytochemicals have a series of useful properties including anti-insecticidal, anti-acaricidal, anti-nematicidal, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties. Research studies have reported excellent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative multidrug-resistant bacteria as well as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although there has been an extensive investigation on the antimicrobial properties of Cannabis, the antimicrobial properties of Cannabis on phytopathogens and aquatic animal pathogens, mostly those affecting fish, remain under-researched. Therefore, the current review intends to investigate the existing body of research on metabolomic profile and anti-microbial properties whilst trying to expand the scope of the properties of the Cannabis plant to benefit the health of other animal species and plant crops, particularly in agriculture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Plant Natural Products Research)

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