Pharmacological Interaction Between Drugs and Medicinal Plants

The use of traditional and herbal medicines is widespread in practically all countries and regions of the world. Sometimes, two or more extracts, oils, or infusions are combined assuming that the therapeutic effect is higher, and the side effects are reduced compared to conventional medicines. It is a common belief that medicinal plants are safe because they are “natural”. However, the use of these combinations is based on a long tradition of observing effects in individual patients and thus mostly empirical. There is often no direct clinical evidence for potential benefits and risks. Often it is unknown whether the mixture proportions are adequate, and the type of interaction these combinations produce, or their possible adverse effects. Importantly, such herbal medical products are also commonly used in combination with chemically defined pharmaceuticals, food supplements, or other health care products. Therefore, such interactions, be they beneficial or potentially harmful, are an important area of research within ethnopharmacology.

There is a growing body of studies focusing on drug-herb and herb-herb interactions, but their interpretability is often problematic. The purpose of combining traditional medicinal plants is to increase the effectiveness and decrease the number of doses, and we specifically hope to attract studies that critically assess such claims. This research topic looks at all aspects associated with such combination effects and their impact on treatment and health.

In this Research Topic, we welcome manuscripts focused on the pharmacological activity of medicinal plants combinations (extract, metabolites, or oils from medicinal plants), as well as drug-medicinal plant combinations, considering the following subjects:
• Pharmacodynamic interaction.
• Pharmacokinetic interaction.
• Toxicology interactions.
• Adverse effect with drug and traditional medicines therapeutic combination.
• Clinical or preclinical treatments in drug-medicinal plant combinations incorporating a detailed assessment of all forms of potential interactions.
• Analysis of more than two plants in combination to produce pharmacological activity.

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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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