For thousands of years, extracts and essential oils have been recovered from medicinal plants and spices with well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. They have been used in traditional medicine to treat and prevent various chronic and acute diseases and promote health. Medicinal plants contain numerous bioactive secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, coumarins, tannins, alkaloids, and terpenoids, which were found to exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Plant extracts, specifically those prepared with traditional and biocompatible solvents, could represent efficacious and safe treatment in various populations. Moreover, they offer a valuable approach to improve and valorize local botanical resources and productive chains.
The goal of this Research Topic is to evaluate novel, unconventional, alternative, and original properties of plant-derived compounds. There will be a particular emphasis on biological and protective activities involved in chronic oxidative stress and inflammation-related diseases. Attention will also be given to fingerprint methods, such as mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), capable of monitoring secondary metabolites in plant extracts helping in elucidating pharmacological effects and mechanisms of action induced by natural products both
in vitro and
in vivo.
Taking into consideration the complex composition of medicinal plant extracts, the dose/concentration range selected should be corroborated by validated cytotoxicity tests. Dose levels must the pharmacologically plausible. In addition, investigations into botanical properties related to tested plant extracts, mechanisms of action, as well as pharmacological evaluations are strongly encouraged. Furthermore, pharmacological studies focusing on isolated metabolites in comparison with crude extracts are welcome.
We welcome review articles and preclinical studies performed with validated
in vivo,
ex vivo, and
in vitro models, which will bring together current research and critical thinking on the different actions shown by extracts or isolated natural compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. We also welcome Original Research and Review articles on aspects related to the possible effects of medicinal plant extracts on modulators and pathways involved in these therapeutic activities. Manuscripts proposing new potential applicative fields of plant extracts will be appreciated.
In this Research Topic, we welcome studies on the following subtopics, but not limited to:
• Potential use of active components in managing inflammatory processes, underlying many chronic diseases.
• Combining advanced phytochemical analysis with the pharmacological evaluation in the context of potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
•
In vitro/
in-vivo evaluation of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts/compounds.
• Molecular mechanisms of action of extracts/compounds as antioxidant/anti-inflammatory agents.
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All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the
Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version
here).
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