Plants have been a central source of natural resources for humanity with all kinds of uses and applications: food, cosmetics, natural remedies and medicines, dyes, textiles, construction materials, ornamental uses, and the extraction of various compounds, including natural pigments. Within pigments, there are four major groups of interest: anthocyanins, chlorophylls, betalains, and carotenoids. Carotenoids are characterized by being formed by relatively long hydrocarbon chains (25 - 50 C), which can end in linear or cyclic structures. In the carotenoid group, bixin and norbixin are two compounds of undeniable relevance as food and cosmetic pigments. However, in recent years, these compounds have been studied to understand other possible effects, mainly in the field of health, yielding promising results. This review features results from studies published in recent years with a focus on possible applications in the field of public health, mainly related to metabolic problems such as sugar and fat metabolism. Additionally, various other health applications are analyzed, and the results are summarized. The main conclusions reached by the authors are also mentioned for a better understanding of the importance of each study. Finally, general conclusions and perspectives are provided in order to continue exploring the possible applications of bixin and norbixin as potential bioactive and functional compounds.

Eupafolin (nepetin) is a bioactive flavonoid with a flavone backbone and hydroxyl groups contributing to its pharmacological properties. It is found in various medicinal plants and has garnered significant attention due to its biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective effects. This review explores eupafolin's natural occurrence, chemical structure, and biosynthetic pathway, highlighting its roles in different scientific domains, including pharmacology, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, and agriculture. Research data on eupafolin were sourced from databases, including Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and PubMed, up to April 2025, resulting in over 100 electronic references. Eupafolin shows promise in drug development and green nanoparticle synthesis, supporting eco-friendly nanomedicine and material science applications. Beyond the biomedical benefits of this flavone, its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties also indicate potential use in plant protection and stress tolerance enhancement. Despite its pharmacological benefits, studies on eupafolin's direct toxicity and safety are lacking, with toxicity mainly observed in cultured cancer cells, suggesting chemotherapeutic potential. Thus, robust in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to determine its safety profile for drug development. Overall, this review presents a comprehensive analysis of eupafolin's occurrence, chemistry, derivatives, biosynthesis, and applications, emphasizing its potential in medicine, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, and agriculture.

The Solanaceae family comprises numerous species of economic and pharmacological importance, including the toxic deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), and black nightshade (Solanum nigrum). These plants are native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and have been used since ancient times in both ritual practices and medicine. A.belladonna contains potent tropane alkaloids (atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine) and is widely utilized in modern pharmacology, although accidental poisonings still occur, often due to confusion with edible plants or the misuse of herbal and homeopathic preparations. In contrast, S. dulcamara contains glycoalkaloids such as solanine, solasodine, and β-solamarine, while S. nigrum contains solanine, solamargine, and solasonine. Both species have a history of traditional use as narcotics, diuretics, and treatments for skin, rheumatic, and respiratory conditions, as well as for pain, inflammation, fever, and other disorders; however, they also pose significant toxicological risks to humans and animals. Although poisonings from these two species are less common than those caused by A.belladonna, they still occur. A review of the literature identified 41 studies reporting poisoning cases associated with these plants, primarily resulting from berry ingestion. Poisoning typically produces anticholinergic syndrome, underscoring the importance of accurate identification and prompt treatment.

Citral-rich essential oils (CEO) exhibit remarkable antioxidant potential. In this review, we discuss chemical and biological aspects of citral and CEO, estimating possible mechanisms of action. To this end, a literature search was carried out in the Scielo, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, focusing on the antioxidant potential of CEO. Analyzed studies demonstrated the protective capacity of citral and CEO in cells stressed by hydrogen peroxide and excess glucose in the medium. Moreover, citral has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antimutagenic activity that can be exploited in a cell culture. The antioxidant activity of citral is attributed to the presence of an aldehyde group and multiple unsaturations in its structure, which enable it to scavenge free radicals and convert them into auto-oxidizing epoxides that are rapidly eliminated by the cell. Citral epigenetically modulates DNA, increasing the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, while inhibiting enzymes involved in lipid peroxidation. In parallel, CEO and citral contribute to maintaining DNA integrity through kinase-related signaling pathways. Despite growing evidence of their antioxidant potential, studies investigating the bioactivity of citral and CEOs in animal cell cultures remain limited. Furthermore, research exploring the synergistic activity of citral with other compounds is still scarce, despite their significant scientific relevance. This scenario reinforces the need for further investigations to elucidate their mechanisms of action and to establish reference parameters guiding their application in different cellular and reproductive models in vitro.

Mesembryanthemum tortuosum is a succulent plant native to southern Africa and was traditionally used to enhance mood. Recent research into M.tortuosum's mood-enhancing effects has culminated in the development of a standardised extract, Zembrin, containing consistent levels of mesembrine alkaloids considered to be the main bioactive compounds. This review aims to critically investigate published in vivo animal and clinical studies using M.tortuosum, Zembrin, and mesembrine alkaloids, to evaluate the study designs, formulations, and dosages used, and to assess the results in terms of safety and therapeutic efficacy as an antidepressant and anxiolytic. Four databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, were searched using terms relating to 'clinical trials', 'in vivo', 'Mesembryanthemum', 'M.tortuosum', 'pre-clinical', 'Sceletium', 'S. tortuosum', and 'Zembrin'. The search was conducted to identify original research articles published before July 2025. Although published pre-clinical animal and clinical studies on M.tortuosum-derived products offer valuable insights, such as a favourable safety profile and potential efficacy as an anxiolytic and antidepressant, several limitations have been identified, including small sample sizes and studies conducted in clinically irrelevant populations. A limited number of reported outcomes suggest that Zembrin may have positive effects on anxiety, cognitive function, stress resilience, and mood. However, not all studies showed consistent benefits, and some outcomes were limited to specific measures such as EEG changes or reaction time under cognitive stress. Large-scale clinical trials in relevant populations should be conducted to determine the potential of M.tortuosum-derived products as anxiolytics and antidepressants.

Positive controls are indispensable for validating in vitro cancer bioassays and ensuring reproducibility in cancer drug discovery research. However, evidence suggests their inclusion in in vitro bioassays during drug discovery is declining, undermining assay reliability, reproducibility, and scientific integrity. This mini-review analysed 150 peer-reviewed studies published in 2015, 2020, and 2025 (50 from each year) to evaluate trends in positive control usage within cytotoxicity assays targeting cancer cell lines. Results indicate that only 52% (2015) and 54% (2020) of studies included appropriate positive controls; however, this dropped to a worrying 32% in 2025. The omission was most pronounced in natural product research and studies using high-throughput assays, such as MTT. In addition, reporting of dose-response parameters (e.g., IC₅₀) decreased from 26% to only 16% across the decade. These findings highlight a systemic erosion of methodological rigor, likely driven by publication pressure, limited resources, and a lack of standardised protocols. We recommend the mandatory inclusion of validated positive controls, transparent reporting of preparation and storage conditions, and journal-level enforcement of experimental standards. Reinforcing these practices will improve reproducibility, comparability, and ultimately the translatability of preclinical cancer research outcomes.

The genus Artemisia L.constitutes one of the largest and most widely distributed groups within the Asteraceae family, renowned for its pharmacological significance. Used in traditional medicine for over two millennia, Artemisia species have been employed to treat a broad spectrum of ailments, with modern pharmacological studies increasingly validating these traditional uses. Interest in the genus surged following the groundbreaking discovery of the antimalarial sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin from Artemisia annua L. Beyond antimalarial activity, Artemisia species exhibit diverse pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties, largely attributed to secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpene lactones, furofuran lignans, polyacetylenes, and methylated flavonoids. This present study covers the bioactivities of extracts, essential oils, and isolated compounds from Artemisia genus reported between 1998 and 2025. Representative compounds from the most characteristic classes of Artemisia secondary metabolites are linked to biological activities, incorporating in vitro and in vivo studies, pharmacokinetics, clinical data, and toxicity profiles, while for each compound species-specific origin is reported.

Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen whose virulence factors, such as polymorphism and biofilm formation, facilitate infection. Due to rising antifungal resistance, essential oils (EOs) from Citrus limon and Citrus sinensis are being investigated for their antimicrobial potential. This study analyzes the chemical composition, antifungal activity against Candida albicans in planktonic and biofilm forms, cytotoxicity on human erythrocytes, and pharmacokinetic properties of Citrus limon and Citrus sinensis essential oils. The essential oils were extracted from the leaves by hydrodistillation, and their composition was analyzed by GC-MS. Antifungal activity was assessed using broth microdilution and time-kill kinetics. Combined effects were assessed using checkerboard assays, while antibiofilm tests were evaluated using polystyrene plate assays and microscopy. Hemolytic activity tests were performed using percentage hemolysis. C. limon essential oil had limonene 40.8%, β-pinene 16.5%, and citronellal 12.3%, while C. sinensis had limonene 36.7%, β-pinene 14.6%, and eucalyptol 10.5% as its main constituents. The MIC was 0.312 - 1.25 mg/mL, with kill kinetics of up to 10 h. It showed additive effects for C. limon/fluconazole and synergistic effects for C. sinensis/fluconazole. It exhibited anti-adhesion and anti-polymorphism effects, inhibiting biofilm formation. It also exhibited low cytotoxicity, with an LC50 of 14 000 µg/mL for C. limon and 13 000 µg/mL for C. sinensis. ADMET and BOILED-egg pharmacokinetic predictions indicated safety for systemic use, with caution for topical application of limonene, citronellal, and eucalyptol. Both EOs exhibited strong anti-Candida activity with minimal cytotoxicity. Its additive/synergistic effects with fluconazole highlight its potential as an alternative or adjuvant therapy against C. albicans infections.