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The Antioxidant Capacities of Natural Products 2021

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 10980

Special Issue Editors

CIMO (Centro de Investigação de Montanha), Instituto Politecnico de Braganca, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
Interests: natural products; bioactive compounds; polyphenols; biological activity; pharmacological activity; drug discovery; cosmetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antioxidant abilities are one of the main pursued bioactive mechanisms, due to their role in the prevention of oxidative stress events and their related diseases, such as inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, aging-related disorders, and cancer, among others. This perception, along with general consumers’ acceptance of natural products, makes antioxidants of natural origin very attractive to be used as health-promoting agents in a variety of products, including functional foods, supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Contributions to this Special Issue, both in the form of original research and review articles, may cover all aspects of antioxidants from natural products, including their extraction by conventional and nonconventional methods; purification and structural characterization of new compounds; in vitro and in vivo biological activities of extracts, isolated compounds or new formulated products; structure–bioactive relations; interaction with other substances in the formulated matrices; bioavailability and innovative delivery systems for antioxidants; and safety and stability of new formulated products.

Dr. Susana Cardoso
Prof. Dr. Olívia R. Pereira
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

  • Natural products
  • Antioxidants
  • Bioactive effects
  • Structure–bioactivity relations
  • New functional products
  • Bioavailability
  • Delivery systems
  • Safety

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2113 KiB  
Article
Portuguese Propolis Antitumoral Activity in Melanoma Involves ROS Production and Induction of Apoptosis
by Rafaela Dias Oliveira, Sónia Pires Celeiro, Catarina Barbosa-Matos, Ana Sofia Freitas, Susana M. Cardoso, Marta Viana-Pereira, Cristina Almeida-Aguiar and Fátima Baltazar
Molecules 2022, 27(11), 3533; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27113533 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2066
Abstract
Melanoma is the most aggressive and life-threatening skin cancer type. The melanoma genome is the most frequently mutated, with the BRAF mutation present in 40–60% of melanoma cases. BRAF-mutated melanomas are characterized by a higher aggressiveness and progression. Adjuvant targeted treatments, such [...] Read more.
Melanoma is the most aggressive and life-threatening skin cancer type. The melanoma genome is the most frequently mutated, with the BRAF mutation present in 40–60% of melanoma cases. BRAF-mutated melanomas are characterized by a higher aggressiveness and progression. Adjuvant targeted treatments, such as BRAF and MEK inhibitors, are added to surgical excision in BRAF-mutated metastatic melanomas to maximize treatment effectiveness. However, resistance remains the major therapeutic problem. Interest in natural products, like propolis, for therapeutic applications, has increased in the last years. Propolis healing proprieties offer great potential for the development of novel cancer drugs. As the activity of Portuguese propolis has never been studied in melanoma, we evaluated the antitumoral activity of propolis from Gerês (G18.EE) and its fractions (n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and n-butanol) in A375 and WM9 melanoma cell lines. Results from DPPH•/ABTS• radical scavenging assays indicated that the samples had relevant antioxidant activity, however, this was not confirmed in the cell models. G18.EE and its fractions decreased cell viability (SRB assay) and promoted ROS production (DHE/Mitotracker probes by flow cytometry), leading to activation of apoptotic signaling (expression of apoptosis markers). Our results suggest that the n-BuOH fraction has the potential to be explored in the pharmacological therapy of melanoma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Antioxidant Capacities of Natural Products 2021)
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13 pages, 2770 KiB  
Article
Gastroprotective Effect of Microencapsulated Myrtus communis Essential Oil against Ethanol/HCl-Induced Acute Gastric Lesions
by Rim Ben Mansour, Raja Serairi Beji, Hanen Wasli, Sami Zekri, Riadh Ksouri, Wided Megdiche-Ksouri and Susana M. Cardoso
Molecules 2022, 27(5), 1566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27051566 - 26 Feb 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1900
Abstract
Myrtus communis L. essential oil (EO), mainly composed of myrtenyl acetate (30.6%), linalool (14.9%), α-pinene (11.10%) and 1,8-cineole or eucalyptol (9.9%), was microencapsulated with maltodextrin by emulsification and spray-drying, reaching a yield and efficiency of 43.7 and 48.7%, respectively. The microencapsulated myrtle EO [...] Read more.
Myrtus communis L. essential oil (EO), mainly composed of myrtenyl acetate (30.6%), linalool (14.9%), α-pinene (11.10%) and 1,8-cineole or eucalyptol (9.9%), was microencapsulated with maltodextrin by emulsification and spray-drying, reaching a yield and efficiency of 43.7 and 48.7%, respectively. The microencapsulated myrtle EO (MMEO) was then evaluated regarding its gastroprotective activity in a model of ethanol/HCl-induced acute gastric ulcer in Wistar rats. Pretreatment with MMEO induced a remarkable inhibition of gastric lesions and acidity, correlated to high healing and protection percentages. Moreover, it exerted a potent anti-inflammatory effect on the gastric mucosa, counteracting EtOH-induced gastric lipoperoxidation and preventing the depletion of the antioxidant enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Taken together, the gastroprotective action of encapsulated MMEO may be multi-factorial, and ascribable, at least in parts, to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Antioxidant Capacities of Natural Products 2021)
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19 pages, 2040 KiB  
Article
Proteome Analysis and In Vitro Antiviral, Anticancer and Antioxidant Capacities of the Aqueous Extracts of Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus ostreatus Edible Mushrooms
by Shaza M. Elhusseiny, Taghrid S. El-Mahdy, Mohamed F. Awad, Nooran S. Elleboudy, Mohamed M. S. Farag, Mahmoud A. Yassein and Khaled M. Aboshanab
Molecules 2021, 26(15), 4623; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26154623 - 30 Jul 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3470
Abstract
In this study, we examined aqueous extracts of the edible mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) and Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom). Proteome analysis was conducted using LC-Triple TOF-MS and showed the expression of 753 proteins by Pleurotus ostreatus, and 432 proteins by Lentinula [...] Read more.
In this study, we examined aqueous extracts of the edible mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) and Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom). Proteome analysis was conducted using LC-Triple TOF-MS and showed the expression of 753 proteins by Pleurotus ostreatus, and 432 proteins by Lentinula edodes. Bioactive peptides: Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor, superoxide dismutase, thioredoxin reductase, serine proteinase and lectin, were identified in both mushrooms. The extracts also included promising bioactive compounds including phenolics, flavonoids, vitamins and amino acids. The extracts showed promising antiviral activities, with a selectivity index (SI) of 4.5 for Pleurotus ostreatus against adenovirus (Ad7), and a slight activity for Lentinula edodes against herpes simplex-II (HSV-2). The extracts were not cytotoxic to normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). On the contrary, they showed moderate cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines. Additionally, antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS radical cation scavenging and ORAC assays. The two extracts showed potential antioxidant activities, with the maximum activity seen for Pleurotus ostreatus (IC50 µg/mL) = 39.46 ± 1.27 for DPPH; 11.22 ± 1.81 for ABTS; and 21.40 ± 2.20 for ORAC assays. This study encourages the use of these mushrooms in medicine in the light of their low cytotoxicity on normal PBMCs vis à vis their antiviral, antitumor and antioxidant capabilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Antioxidant Capacities of Natural Products 2021)
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12 pages, 2243 KiB  
Article
Alternative Approach for Specific Tyrosinase Inhibitor Screening: Uncompetitive Inhibition of Tyrosinase by Moringa oleifera
by Farah J. Hashim, Sukanda Vichitphan, Jaehong Han and Kanit Vichitphan
Molecules 2021, 26(15), 4576; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26154576 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2672
Abstract
Tyrosinase (TYR) is a type III copper oxidase present in fungi, plants and animals. The inhibitor of human TYR plays a vital role in pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields by preventing synthesis of melanin in the skin. To search for an effective TYR inhibitor [...] Read more.
Tyrosinase (TYR) is a type III copper oxidase present in fungi, plants and animals. The inhibitor of human TYR plays a vital role in pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields by preventing synthesis of melanin in the skin. To search for an effective TYR inhibitor from various plant extracts, a kinetic study of TYR inhibition was performed with mushroom TYR. Among Panax ginseng, Alpinia galanga, Vitis vinifera and Moringa oleifera, the extracts of V. vinifera seed, A. galanga rhizome and M. oleifera leaf reversibly inhibited TYR diphenolase activity with IC50 values of 94.8 ± 0.2 µg/mL, 105.4 ± 0.2 µg/mL and 121.3 ± 0.4 µg/mL, respectively. Under the same conditions, the IC50 values of the representative TYR inhibitors of ascorbic acid and kojic acid were found at 235.7 ± 1.0 and 192.3 ± 0.4 µg/mL, respectively. An inhibition kinetics study demonstrated mixed-type inhibition of TYR diphenolase by A. galanga and V. vinifera, whereas a rare uncompetitive inhibition pattern was found from M. oleifera with an inhibition constant of Kii 73 µg/mL. Phytochemical investigation by HPLC-MS proposed luteolin as a specific TYR diphenolase ES complex inhibitor, which was confirmed by the inhibition kinetics of luteolin. The results clearly showed that studying TYR inhibition kinetics with plant extract mixtures can be utilized for the screening of specific TYR inhibitors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Antioxidant Capacities of Natural Products 2021)
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