About this Research Topic
Herbal medicines have made a great contribution to human health for a long history in different nations and cultures. Herbal medicines also played important roles in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Many new drugs, such as paclitaxel, cocaine, digitoxin, and artemisinin, originate from herbal medicines. The significance of discovering the anti-malaria drug artemisinin by Youyou Tu was recognized by awarding a Nobel Prize in 2015. However, herbal medicines have not been accepted as mainstream medicine in western countries for treating diseases. Lack of rigorous quality control to assess the efficacy and safety of herbal medicinal products had hindered their development. The development of new technology in recent years could facilitate quality control for herbal medicinal products in the future.
This Research Topic aimed to explore all kinds of new technologies and methods, such as DNA bar-cording or chloroplast genomes, LC-MS, metabolomics, to ensure safe, effective, and rational drug usage in the clinic and to decrease the reappearance of adverse side effects (ADRs) of herbal medicines. A new animal model, such as the zebrafish model, could be explored for assessing the safety of herbal medicines. We also welcome the study on the isolation, purification of active and toxic compounds, which could be used as potential quality markers. For instance, a-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibitors were extracted from the roots of Polygonum multiflorum (P. multiflorum). New methods to detect harmful substances, for example, aristolochic acid in Aristolochia manshuriensis, Asarum heterotropoides, and Aristolochia debilis. Meanwhile, dianthrones isolated from the P. multiflorum are a group of toxins that could be used as potential toxic markers to control the quality of P. multiflorum.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following. We welcome scientists from all over the world to contribute with Original Research and Reviews to our Research topics. The Original Research papers, as well as Reviews, should contain/quote pharmacological data. Data obtained with the association of different compounds and/or extracts will be considered acceptable only when data obtained with single compounds are provided or available in the literature. However, studies carried out with crude extracts/multiherbal preparations will not be considered for this Research Topic.
• Molecular identification of herbal medicines. The molecular identification for herbal medicines using DNA barcoding, chloroplast genomes, and so on.
• Isolate and identify the potential active and toxic compounds from herbal medicines.
• New methods and technology for characterizing and identifying active/toxic compounds or applied to control the quality and safety of herbal medicines.
• The limited standards and safety evaluation of endogenous and exogenous toxic constituents from herbal medicines.
This Research Topic aimed to explore all kinds of new technologies and methods, such as DNA bar-cording or chloroplast genomes, LC-MS, metabolomics, to ensure safe, effective, and rational drug usage in the clinic and to decrease the reappearance of adverse side effects (ADRs) of herbal medicines. A new animal model, such as the zebrafish model, could be explored for assessing the safety of herbal medicines. We also welcome the study on the isolation, purification of active and toxic compounds, which could be used as potential quality markers. For instance, a-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibitors were extracted from the roots of Polygonum multiflorum (P. multiflorum). New methods to detect harmful substances, for example, aristolochic acid in Aristolochia manshuriensis, Asarum heterotropoides, and Aristolochia debilis. Meanwhile, dianthrones isolated from the P. multiflorum are a group of toxins that could be used as potential toxic markers to control the quality of P. multiflorum.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following. We welcome scientists from all over the world to contribute with Original Research and Reviews to our Research topics. The Original Research papers, as well as Reviews, should contain/quote pharmacological data. Data obtained with the association of different compounds and/or extracts will be considered acceptable only when data obtained with single compounds are provided or available in the literature. However, studies carried out with crude extracts/multiherbal preparations will not be considered for this Research Topic.
• Molecular identification of herbal medicines. The molecular identification for herbal medicines using DNA barcoding, chloroplast genomes, and so on.
• Isolate and identify the potential active and toxic compounds from herbal medicines.
• New methods and technology for characterizing and identifying active/toxic compounds or applied to control the quality and safety of herbal medicines.
• The limited standards and safety evaluation of endogenous and exogenous toxic constituents from herbal medicines.
Keywords: Herbal medicines, quality control standard, safety evaluation, molecular identification, isolation and purification, endogenous and exogenous toxic constituents, limited standards
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
