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Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants
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Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 4965

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mikio Nishizawa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan
Interests: molecular biology; biochemistry; pharmacology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

From the various parts of medicinal plants, such as flowers, fruits, leaves, and roots, bioactive compounds are purified and characterized. These natural compounds have been used as crude drugs in traditional medicine in Asia, including China, Japan (Kampo medicine), India (Ayurveda), and Indonesia (Jamu). In crude drugs, there are major constituents, which are included at a high content, and principal constituents, which exhibit pharmacological activities. Although the latter function in vitro and in vivo (animals and humans), they are not well elucidated. This Special Issue covers research on the natural bioactive compounds that are included in crude drugs of traditional medicine. This includes both structural and functional analyses of the constituents, including major constituents and principal constituents, especially in Kampo medicine and Jamu.

Prof. Dr. Mikio Nishizawa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at mdpi.longhoe.net 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 product
  • medicinal plant
  • traditional medicine
  • bioactive molecule
  • crude drug

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5294 KiB  
Article
Antioxidant Properties of Platycladus orientalis Flavonoids for Treating UV-Induced Damage in Androgenetic Alopecia Hair
by Chuntao Xu, Jiawei Dai, Weian Du and Hongbing Ji
Molecules 2024, 29(12), 2876; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29122876 - 17 Jun 2024
Viewed by 463
Abstract
Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) causes thinning hair, but poor hair quality in balding areas and damage from UV radiation have been overlooked. Plant extracts like Platycladus orientalis flavonoids (POFs) may improve hair quality in AGA. This study examines POFs’ effectiveness in treating AGA-affected [...] Read more.
Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) causes thinning hair, but poor hair quality in balding areas and damage from UV radiation have been overlooked. Plant extracts like Platycladus orientalis flavonoids (POFs) may improve hair quality in AGA. This study examines POFs’ effectiveness in treating AGA-affected hair and repairing UV-induced damage. Methods: Hair samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine surface characteristics, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to measure free radicals in the hair, and spectrophotometry to assess changes in hair properties. Results: POFs effectively removed hydroxyl radicals from keratinocytes and had antioxidant properties. They also reduced UV-induced damage to AGA hair by mitigating the production of melanin free radicals. Following POF treatment, the reduction in peroxidized lipid loss in AGA hair was notable at 59.72%, thereby effectively delaying the progression of hair color change. Moreover, protein loss decreased by 191.1 μ/g and tryptophan loss by 15.03%, ultimately enhancing hair’s tensile strength. Conclusion: compared to healthy hair, hair damaged by AGA shows more pronounced signs of damage when exposed to UV radiation. POFs help protect balding hair by reducing oxidative damage and slowing down melanin degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants)
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14 pages, 1556 KiB  
Article
Characterization of the Volatile Constituents of Plai (Zingiber purpureum) by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry
by Yuto Nishidono, Azis Saifudin and Ken Tanaka
Molecules 2024, 29(6), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29061216 - 8 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1101
Abstract
Zingiber purpureum Roscoe, known as plai in Thailand, is a perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae family and has traditionally been used in Southeast Asian countries to treat inflammation, pain, and asthma. In this study, we performed the characterization of the volatile constituents in [...] Read more.
Zingiber purpureum Roscoe, known as plai in Thailand, is a perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae family and has traditionally been used in Southeast Asian countries to treat inflammation, pain, and asthma. In this study, we performed the characterization of the volatile constituents in ethyl acetate extracts of plai. Ethyl acetate extracts derived from the rhizomes of plai were subjected to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and the key peaks in the total ion current chromatograms were annotated or identified. In total, twenty-one compounds were identified using isolation procedures or standards, and nine compounds were annotated by comparing their Kovats retention index (RI) and electron ionization (EI) mass spectra with those in the literature. Most of the identifications were inconsistent with the tentative annotations found via library search and suggested that some peaks were incorrectly assigned in previous studies. Thus, to avoid further misannotations and contribute to the research on dereplication, the RI value, EI mass spectral data, and NMR spectroscopy data of the isolated compounds are reported. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants)
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Review

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26 pages, 939 KiB  
Review
Phytochemicals of Alpinia zerumbet: A Review
by Yuto Nishidono and Ken Tanaka
Molecules 2024, 29(12), 2845; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29122845 - 14 Jun 2024
Viewed by 564
Abstract
Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm is a perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae family widely distributed in the subtropical and tropical areas of South America, Oceania, and Asia. Multiple plant parts of A. zerumbet have been traditionally used as medicinal sources, each with [...] Read more.
Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm is a perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae family widely distributed in the subtropical and tropical areas of South America, Oceania, and Asia. Multiple plant parts of A. zerumbet have been traditionally used as medicinal sources, each with different clinical uses. These variations may arise from differences among the chemical components and/or accumulations of the active compounds in each part. Therefore, this review summarizes previous studies on the phytochemicals in A. zerumbet and reveals the similarities and differences among the chemical constituents of its multiple medicinal parts, including the leaves, rhizomes, fruits, seeds, and flowers. The results contribute to the scientific validation of the traditional understanding that A. zerumbet possesses different medicinal properties in each plant part. In addition, this review provides directions for further studies on the phytochemicals of this plant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants)
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43 pages, 12336 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Chemistry and Antioxidant/Anticancer Biology of Monoterpene and Meroterpenoid Natural Product
by Benedict J. Barras, Taotao Ling and Fatima Rivas
Molecules 2024, 29(1), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29010279 - 4 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2417
Abstract
Monoterpenes and meroterpenes are two large classes of isoprene-based molecules produced by terrestrial plants and unicellular organisms as diverse secondary metabolites. The global rising incidence of cancer has led to a renewed interest in natural products. These monoterpenes and meroterpenes represent a novel [...] Read more.
Monoterpenes and meroterpenes are two large classes of isoprene-based molecules produced by terrestrial plants and unicellular organisms as diverse secondary metabolites. The global rising incidence of cancer has led to a renewed interest in natural products. These monoterpenes and meroterpenes represent a novel source of molecular scaffolds that can serve as medicinal chemistry platforms for the development of potential preclinical leads. Furthermore, some of these natural products are either abundant, or their synthetic strategies are scalable as it will be indicated here, facilitating their derivatization to expand their scope in drug discovery. This review is a collection of representative updates (from 2016–2023) in biologically active monoterpene and meroterpenoid natural products and focuses on the recent findings of the pharmacological potential of these bioactive compounds as well as the newly developed synthetic strategies employed to access them. Particular emphasis will be placed on the anticancer and antioxidant potential of these compounds in order to raise knowledge for further investigations into the development of potential anti-cancer therapeutics. The mounting experimental evidence from various research groups across the globe regarding the use of these natural products at pre-clinical levels, renders them a fast-track research area worth of attention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Bioactive Compounds from Traditional Asian Plants)
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