Many inflammatory diseases are becoming common in aging societies throughout the world. However, the clinically used anti-inflammatory drugs suffer from the disadvantage of side effects and the high cost of treatment (in case of biologics). Alternative to these drugs is natural products, which are structurally optimized by evolution to serve particular biological functions. Since ancient times traditional medicines and phytopharmaceuticals have been used for the treatment of inflammatory and other disorders, and the use in traditional medicine may provide insights regarding efficacy and safety. Natural products remain a promising pool for discovering novel molecules with high structural diversity and various bioactivities that can be directly developed or used as starting points for optimization into novel anti-inflammatory drugs.
Natural products play a significant role in human health in relation to the prevention and treatment of inflammatory conditions. And their anti-inflammatory activities have long been used as a folk remedy for inflammatory conditions such as fevers, pain, migraine, arthritis, hypoxia, free radical, and ultraviolet injury. As the inflammatory basis of disease becomes clear, anti-inflammatory drugs and food products become of greater interest. The British Nutrition Foundation report on phytochemicals provides a useful classification for those products, namely: terpenoids, flavonoids, allied phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, and sulphur-containing compounds. Further studies are being conducted to investigate the mechanism of action, metabolism, safety, and long-term side effect of these natural products, as well as interactions between these natural products with food and drug components.
Overall, the natural products pool is enriched with ‘bioactive’ compounds covering a wider area of chemical space than typical synthetic small-molecule libraries and offers great hope in identifying bioactive lead compounds and their development into drugs for treating inflammatory diseases. However, it is unclear whether the functional outcome is improved, and the search for more promising therapies continues. Besides, natural product screens typically involve a library of extracts from natural sources, which may not be compatible with traditional target-based assays. Hence, substantial and constant efforts in the identification of natural bioactive compounds are urgent, especially on the screening assays and action mechanisms.
This Research Topic aims to gather scientific contributions (Research Articles or Reviews) from any groups working on the treatment of natural molecules for inflammation injury, especially triggered by free radicals, hypoxia, or strong UV radiation. Scientific topics are listed below but are not limited to:
• The discovery and screening of natural anti-inflammatory molecules;
• The metabolism and disposal of natural anti-inflammatory molecules in vitro/vivo;
• The action mechanism and pharmacology of bioactive natural molecules;
• The safety assessment and structural modification of bioactive natural molecules.
• Comprehensive evaluation of the medicinal resources provided for these bioactive compounds.
Please note: this Research Topic does not accept publication studies carried out with crude extracts or mixtures. Only the manuscripts describing the effects of chemically defined compounds are accepted.
Many inflammatory diseases are becoming common in aging societies throughout the world. However, the clinically used anti-inflammatory drugs suffer from the disadvantage of side effects and the high cost of treatment (in case of biologics). Alternative to these drugs is natural products, which are structurally optimized by evolution to serve particular biological functions. Since ancient times traditional medicines and phytopharmaceuticals have been used for the treatment of inflammatory and other disorders, and the use in traditional medicine may provide insights regarding efficacy and safety. Natural products remain a promising pool for discovering novel molecules with high structural diversity and various bioactivities that can be directly developed or used as starting points for optimization into novel anti-inflammatory drugs.
Natural products play a significant role in human health in relation to the prevention and treatment of inflammatory conditions. And their anti-inflammatory activities have long been used as a folk remedy for inflammatory conditions such as fevers, pain, migraine, arthritis, hypoxia, free radical, and ultraviolet injury. As the inflammatory basis of disease becomes clear, anti-inflammatory drugs and food products become of greater interest. The British Nutrition Foundation report on phytochemicals provides a useful classification for those products, namely: terpenoids, flavonoids, allied phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, and sulphur-containing compounds. Further studies are being conducted to investigate the mechanism of action, metabolism, safety, and long-term side effect of these natural products, as well as interactions between these natural products with food and drug components.
Overall, the natural products pool is enriched with ‘bioactive’ compounds covering a wider area of chemical space than typical synthetic small-molecule libraries and offers great hope in identifying bioactive lead compounds and their development into drugs for treating inflammatory diseases. However, it is unclear whether the functional outcome is improved, and the search for more promising therapies continues. Besides, natural product screens typically involve a library of extracts from natural sources, which may not be compatible with traditional target-based assays. Hence, substantial and constant efforts in the identification of natural bioactive compounds are urgent, especially on the screening assays and action mechanisms.
This Research Topic aims to gather scientific contributions (Research Articles or Reviews) from any groups working on the treatment of natural molecules for inflammation injury, especially triggered by free radicals, hypoxia, or strong UV radiation. Scientific topics are listed below but are not limited to:
• The discovery and screening of natural anti-inflammatory molecules;
• The metabolism and disposal of natural anti-inflammatory molecules in vitro/vivo;
• The action mechanism and pharmacology of bioactive natural molecules;
• The safety assessment and structural modification of bioactive natural molecules.
• Comprehensive evaluation of the medicinal resources provided for these bioactive compounds.
Please note: this Research Topic does not accept publication studies carried out with crude extracts or mixtures. Only the manuscripts describing the effects of chemically defined compounds are accepted.